photo courtesy of WLUC
Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the CROWN Act last Thursday, June 8. The bill promises to protect all Michigan workers from discrimination based on their natural hair texture and styles.
The CROWN Act, Senate Bill 90, stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. After being introduced by State Senator Sarah Anthony, Whitmer signed off on the act seeking to end hair discrimination after the Michigan House voted 100-7.
Anthony said, “I am proud to announce that the CROWN Act has passed through both chambers of the Michigan legislature with bipartisan support.”
“When I first introduced this legislation in 2019, it was shelved, and I was told that we needed to prioritize ‘more important’ issues. I can think of nothing more important than prohibiting legalized racial discrimination in school and the workplace.”
Another representative of Detroit, Stephanie A. Young, added, “Believe it or not, natural hair discrimination is a real thing. When you hear of instances of employers putting staff on administrative leave for their natural hairstyles or elementary school personnel taking it upon themselves to cut a little Black girl’s natural hair but nobody else’s, I hope folks can begin to see the importance of this legislation that I have been honored to vote ‘yes’ on each time it came before me in the House.”
Whitmer’s decision rests soundly on the back of an influential study co-commissioned by Dove and LinkedIn to research the effects of hair discrimination on Black women in the workforce. They reported: “Black women’s hair is 2.5x more likely to be perceived as unprofessional. Approximately 2/3 of Black women (66%) change their hair for a job interview. Among them, 41% changed their hair from curly to straight. Black women are 54% more likely (or over 1.5x more likely) to feel like they have to wear their hair straight to a job interview to be successful. Black women with coily/textured hair are 2x as likely to experience microaggressions in the workplace than Black women with straighter hair. Over 20% of Black women 25-34 have been sent home from work because of their hair. Nearly half (44%) of Black women under age 34 feel pressured to have a headshot with straight hair. 25% of Black women believe they have been denied a job interview because of their hair, which is even higher for women under 34 (1/3).”