Discrimination in the Workplace is Alive and Well

Many of us teens have been in search of jobs for many different reasons. Recently I have applied to a job at the outlets and as we all know, the outlets supply a cluster of in need seasonal or full time job openings. Luckily, I was one to get a call back for a sales associate position. I showed up, was dressed very fancy, and my hair was pulled up into a ponytail. I was offered the job soon after but what happened next really shocked me. “Here’s the dress code. Your hair is beautiful, but to work here you’re going to have to straighten it.” They thought it was “too messy” and “distracting”. Mind you...it was in a ponytail! The job description didn't say anything about me having to have pin straight hair. The only thing that it said about hair was to have natural coloring, and that I do have. I politely declined the job because they basically discriminated me.

You should never have to change your natural look to fit the needs of others. Anyone should wear their hair however it makes them feel their very best. Many people disagreed with me and told me that I should’ve just done it for the money. What they don't understand is that it takes a maximum of three hours to do it, three hours of straight heat on my hair… daily. Here is a response from another teacher (who also happens to be black) that heard about my situation: “You lost the job. If that's what they wanted you to do then why not do it? It was your job and now you lost it.”

I was very disappointed that that was the advice that was given to me, but no, I didn't lose “my job”. I won control over myself that black women from the 60’s having to wear perms to job interviews, fought for. So to change this into a positive, the moral of this situation is to never change for anyone or anything. Self love is all you need and the fact that they wanted me to change to fit everyone else's appearance means I'm different and different is good.