One of the (many) incredible things about Black women is our freedom and ability to wear our hair in myriad ways for myriad reasons.But like many of our liberties, the freedom to wear our hair the way we want does not come without a price. Research tells us that hair bias is a measurable and harmful phenomenon that impacts Black women and personally, it’s a stigma that I associated with wearing my natural hair in the workplace. In fact, it felt like a radical act to request professional headshots featuring my natural hair. However, I set aside my own recognition of hair bias for what I deemed the more compelling goal— modeling the notion for my two daughters that our hair need not be straightened to convey that we’re appropriately coiffed for a “special occasion” or a professional affair. For me, my natural hair is the professional representation of my full, authentic self that I bring to work.
This is of particular importance to me as I reflect on the significance of today, Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. August 13th, 2020, marks the date on which the average Black woman has finally earned the same amount as a similarly-situated White, non-Hispanic man in 2019. In short, we’re in need of radical acts to make this a date we never have to observe again. In a conversation earlier this week with Erica Barnhart, Erica pointed out that "radical” acts are really those acts that are rooted in a thing— and not necessarily acts or behaviors that we might view as extreme, as our conversational definition of radical might hold. The “radical act” of displaying my natural hair— a choice rooted in who I am fundamentally— brings to mind other radical acts of solidarity that people and organizations can undertake to eliminate the pay inequity—and mitigate the loss of over $1 million in income over the careers of Black women.
Here are 3 things you can do right now a radical acts of solidarity:
ENACT A WRITTEN PAY EQUITY PLAN.
This is truly the most radical act in this process, because it is most fundamentally linked to the pay inequity crisis. If you have not reviewed the salaries in your organization and undertaken a pay equity audit, first familiarize yourself with your legal obligation to pay your employees fairly. Once you’ve done that bit of light reading, be prepared to take a thorough look at compensation data, taking care to pay an expert in this field if you’re unsure of how to approach this. True pay equity requires going beyond superficial assessments of whether employees are performing the same jobs, and requires a closer look at whether other historical factors have resulted in a pay disparity between groups of employees. In the context of Black women’s pay considerations, this can absolutely be the case. This process should end with a written timeline for the resolution of any identified areas of pay inequity.
HONOR OUR AUTHENTICITY.
Engage in dialogue with the Black women in your organization to better understand what their experiences navigating the professional space have been like. Often, this radical act will uncover truths and disrupt assumptions that have consciously or unconsciously fed into the corporate and cultural myth of the angry Black woman. This myth can have destructive consequences: our mere existence, historically interpreted as angry or combative, can lead to negative outcomes in our performance evaluations, our opportunities for professional development, and of course— our pay. Undertake the radical act of learning about and honoring who we are and what we bring to work every day; it will pay moral dividends in terms of company culture and, of course, it will pay actual dividends to Black women over time.
BREAK DOWN THE BARRIERS.
Even when controlling for other factors, Black women earn as much as 27% less than White men. While we can certainly start down the path forward by establishing a pay equity plan and enforcing equitable performance metrics, we can also seek out more holistic ways to level the earnings playing field. Black women are more likely to be burdened with student loan debt, more likely to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, and more likely to have disproportionate work and childcare demands. Organizations can begin to create a more equitable society by increasing the number of scholarships and paid internship opportunities for Black women, initiating salary negotiations when extending an offer or promotion, and expanding affordable childcare options.
Taking these important steps toward closing the pay gap can help your organization to end the historical discrimination levied against Black women, and they are among the ways we can grow from the aspirational to the actionable.