French MPs back bill against ‘hair discrimination’

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The lower house of the French parliament approved a bill on Thursday that bans discrimination in the workplace based on hair texture.

Olivier Serva, an independent member of the National Assembly for the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe and the bill’s sponsor, said the law would punish any discrimination in the workplace based on “hairstyle, color, length or texture of hair,” according to French daily Le Monde.

The proposal was approved by a 44-to-2 vote and now awaits its passage in the upper chamber, where its future is still uncertain.

Critics of the law say it is unnecessary because discrimination based on appearance is already prohibited by law. According to them, the introduction would be rather “symbolic”. “It’s a typical example of a bad idea: there is no legal vacuum,” Eric Rocheblave, a lawyer specializing in labor law, told AFP. As he added, the Labor Code already stipulates that physical appearance cannot be a reason for discrimination, although it “does not explicitly regulate discrimination on the basis of hair.”

Conversely, according to the CROWN 2023 survey conducted by Dove&Linkedin, women with textured hair are 2.5x more likely to be perceived as less professional. Mixed race or black women with natural hair are twice as likely to experience microaggressions in the workplace as women with straight hair. Two out of three African-American women style their hair for job interviews, with 41 percent straightening their curly hair. More than half of the respondents believe that this way they have a better chance of succeeding in the interview.

But the problem is not limited to African-American women: 31 percent of blondes polled dyed their hair brown to appear more intelligent. People with red hair are bullied at school and at work because of their hair color. Also, 30 percent of balding men said they were less likely to move up in the company.

“It’s a serious topic that’s not just a matter of aesthetics,” says Kenza Bel Kenadil, an influencer and activist against hair discrimination. “No one destroys their hair just to meet beauty standards. Discrimination because of hair has an impact on self-confidence, identity and people’s roots,” French TV5 Monde quotes the activist.