Following reports of a Baltimore woman fired from her job because of her blonde highlights, another black woman is facing discrimination because of the way she chooses to wear her hair.
Ashley Davis, a 24-year-old from St. Peters, Mo., said a change in her company's policy now requires her to cut off her dreadlocks.
“I've only been there for two months, and they came up with a policy. I feel like it's degrading,” she said.
According to Fox 2 St. Louis, the policy was implemented on September 21st-- a few weeks after Davis began working there. The policy states,"dreadlocks, braids, mohawks, mullets and other hairstyles are against company guidelines."
Davis tells the local Fox station she had the dreadlocks when they hired her and she's been growing her locks for 10 years. To her, they're apart of her culture and everyone in her family wears them. But, she's the only one in her office that wears the hairstyle.
The station reached out to Davis' employer, where she works as a secretary, who responded with the following statement:
“Tower Loan does not comment on individual personnel matters. However, Tower has an appearance policy that is clearly defined in its training manual. Tower believes a professional appearance is necessary for the success of the company.”
Davis reportedly has until Friday to make the change.
“My dreads, I love them and I’m going to keep them. My hair is a part of me and it makes me the professional and bubbly person I am,” she said.
Davis joins the many women who have faced discrimination because of their hair over the past year. Along with the Baltimore woman who claims she was fired for her blonde highlights, 7-year-old Tiana Parker was forced to change schools because of her school's ban on dreadlocks. An Ohio charter school attempted to ban "afro-puffs and small twisted braids,"and meteorologist Rhonda Lee was fired from her TV station after defending her choice to wear her natural hair on air.
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