Dreadlocks and jobs can be an oxymoron in many companies around the United States. Depending on your profession being loc’d up could hinder you from getting hired or from being promoted. I know this is not what you want to hear but trust me when I tell you we have interviewed and spoken to many men and women who are dreaded and have given multiple accounts of these actions. This mostly occurs in the military and highly publicized jobs like news anchors or corporate Tier 1 positions.
The woman in the picture above is beautiful and her dreads are well maintained but it doesn’t matter. The simple fact is majority of corporate America is not ready for this styling option. They still lack the knowledge of dreadlocks. Many people still link dreadheads to drugs, dirty hair or Rastafarian heritage.
This is another reason Thirsty Roots was created to help educate insiders and outsiders about the beauty of black hair.
Tell us what hurdles you have experienced in the job market while wearing dreadlocks!
Love the web site. Articles about locs’ don’t normally disturb me but this one does. I guess because I disagree with your feelings about what are nice’ locs. Locs’ can be grown without manipulation (not neglect) and turn out beautifully.
Locs’ can be styled and colored into any style which fits well into corporate America. Two things we can do not have to change ~the color of our skin and the texture of our hair.
Thanks for the valid information regarding the care for beautiful dreads from start and what’s needed to care this process to the finishing task. Tips on connecting strands on up-do hairstyles would be helpful.
You only address traditional locs. What about sister/brother locs? I think because this type of locs offer more styling options that are”corporate America acceptable.” I feel we are soooo much more than our hair,and we should be able to wear our hair in any style that is neat and clean and complimentary to our features. Unfortunately, we live in a world that judges on face value and stereotypes.
Luckily my brother and I have our own business so I don’t have to worry about that, but I started growing my locs when I was a corp. trainer at Xerox and it wasn’t a problem..
I get more dirty looks from my own people than I do from the white people that I work with. Most of the white people want to touch and it and they ask question about how I maintain it… Some of them have nick named me the “Get up and Go Girl” because all I have to do is get up and go in the morining…
I am a doctor and I have had locks since medical school. I have never been asked to change my hair. It really depends where you live and the whether people are opened minded. I have days my hair is styled fancy and days I wish I could hide my untidy roots. Either way I would not change my hai for my job. There are other places I can go work and be accepted (by patient’s and administrators).
I hate when my own people have more misconceptions than other races. The only outside race that I had a problem with my locs was my Chinese roommate who was not culturally sensitive to the growth of my hair. She felt like her hair was extremely GOD-LIKE and that I wouldn’t get a job because my hair doesn’t look manageable. Ummm sweetheart I am going to be a teacher and there is more than hair that is allowed in the education world now … I also have piercings and a couple of tattoos. Hair is nothing but hair … People need to understand that my hair grows as such and I am not going to change it.