Hair Stereotypes

and even pulled back away from the face as to avoid potential workplace accidents. Should an employee need to have their hair in a length that goes against company policy for religious reasons, employers should make accommodations or exceptions as long as it does not cause undue hardship to the business. The style and length are not the only factors concerning hair that your employers may have a say so in. Employers are putting restrictions on employee’s hair color as well. It’s all about perception in the workplace. There are stereotypes that may be attached to certain hair colors. “Red heads are perceived to be temperamental and opinionated” (Maysonave, n.d.) whether this is accurate or not. In an article appearing in Elle, Erin Bogart,

The color of an employee’s hair may be influenced by “the office culture, perception, styling, and choice of color” (Armour, 2013). However, traditional workplace are starting to relax since companies like Google have found success after giving employees control and freedom (Armour, 2013). Freedom to choose a particular hair color or colors must be within company guidelines if such a policy exist. In the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, an employee sued Abercrombie & Fitch for race discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment based on their hair color policy. The policy required employees to have a clean, natural, classic hairstyle. The multiracial woman dyed her hair black after being hired by the company. After four months, she added blonde highlights and was reprimanded for having two-toned hair. She then dyed her hair a color lighter than black and was again reprimanded because a lighter color was seen in the new hair color. She was not allowed to return to work until she died her hair back black. While this may seem like the

However, some employees despise having to put on makeup to go to work. Some employers require their women employees to wear makeup while there are others that limit the amount of makeup their employees wear. One would think that wearing makeup is a matter of personal preference, but in some instances, it a requirement of the job.

Employers can require female employees to wear makeup to “present a professional image” (Kemp, n.d.) especially if they have to be around the public. Those working with the public that might be required to wear makeup “include waiters, bartenders, newscasters, reporters, and retail associates” (Kemp, n.d.). There have been studies showing that people’s perception of a woman’s likability is increased by wearing makeup (in moderation) (Manos, 2014). The deciding factor of whether or not make-up is allowed of frowned upon usually relies on the specific job or