Skip to main content

Google's Portrayal of "Professional" Hair

Alexander, L. (2016, April 8). Do Google's 'unprofessional hair' results show it is racist? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/08/does-google-unprofessional-hair-results-prove-algorithms-racist-

Women of color specifically are placed at a disadvantage in the workplace due to their race. The stereotype of the "angry black woman" has caused women of color to act more introverted at their places of work. Women often change their behaviors in their offices to seem "professional", but this then poses the question of what makes them seem unprofessional in the first place? Many are judged for their appearances, communication skills and how well they can control their emotions. This can bring a new set of emotional and mental stress to these women. 

In the past few years, a new type of racial discrimination towards black women has surfaced. The Washington Post referred to it as race-based hair discrimination. The picture above is a tweet shared, after a Twitter user googled unprofessional hairstyles for work and professional ones. The results for unprofessional was mostly pictures of black women with their natural hair out. The professional results showed images of white women, also with their natural hair, but was for some reason deemed more professional and acceptable.  Although several states are taking steps to break down the culture of discrimination surrounding black hair in school and work environments, it continues to be stigmatized. 


Unfortunately, throughout history, particularly hairstyles and textures of women of color has become increasingly racialized. This creates the expectations for these individuals to "dress" their hair for the workplace and to fit into the workplace culture. This creates bias towards black individuals seeking work and forces them to suppress parts of their identity. This issue continues to create racial divides not only in the United States, but across the globe. Although laws being passed are helping to combat this issue, it is not until major cultural shifts start to happen that this kind of racial prejudice will end. 

Course Reference: Durr, M. & Harvey Wingfield, A.M. (2011). "Keep your "N" in check." In Andersen, M. L., & Collins, P. H. (2019). Race, class, and gender: intersections and inequalities (pp 169-176). Boston, MA: Cengage.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Educational Equity and the Blind Side of Education

Williams, C. (n.d.). Fighting for Educational Equity: Equity Vs. Equality. Retrieved June 8, 2018, from https://www.csas.co/fighting-for-educational-equity-equity-vs-equality/ The photo above shows what is referred to today as the educational achievement gap. Educational equality is when one curriculum is designed for all students regardless of external factors. Educational equity is when curriculum is designed for individual students taking into consideration heir personal challengers. The achievement gap is created when students have different academic performances when evaluated by their race and socioeconomic class. Throughout various structures of the socioeconomic hierarchy, students in the middle and lower class may not have access to the same resources and tools that allow students to thrive in educational environments. Students affected by achievement gaps are often racial/ethnic minorities, english language learners, students with disabilities and students from low inc
Post a Comment
Read more

Portfolio Reflection

            When I signed up to take Gender, Race and Class Studies, I had no idea that I would be taking so much away from the course. I decided to take the class because the description sounded like something that I would be interested in, but the experience has been very astonishing, and it has definitely humbled me. Growing up, my parents taught me that not everyone had equal opportunities in the world, but that our differences is what makes us who we are and that everyone deserves to be taught with respect. When I was younger, I didn’t give much thought to this other than that maybe some people had big houses and some people didn’t. I always took what they said into consideration, but my early adolescent brain didn’t give explore it much more than that.             This class has shed a deeper light on the different inequalities in a person’s life that determines what kinds of opportunities they have or how they are treated through an intersectional lens. For many of these peop
1 comment
Read more