Will hair discrimination soon be banned in France?

In 2005, an Air France steward was fired because of his hairstyle: braids tied in a bun. His employer, believing that this hairstyle was not authorized by the uniform rules manual, had to wear a wig until 2007, before going to the employment tribunal in 2012. Ten years later, he ended up winning the lawsuit against the airline, accused of “ discrimination based directly on physical appearance linked to sex » since this hairstyle was authorized for women, she reports Actu.fr. This hair injustice inspired Olivier Serra, a deputy from Guadeloupe who has been proposing a bill on hair discrimination since April 2023.

This bill by MP Olivier Serva wants to ban hair discrimination in France

This law would therefore add to discrimination based on physical appearance the hair criterion provided for by the penal code, the labor code and the civil service code. And this, whether it’s the cut, color, length or texture of the hair, brings it back Information about France. So this would help people with textured hair no longer face discrimination due to the hair growing naturally on their head. But also to discourage the use of straightening products, known for their harmfulness. In fact, a study by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), reported in particular by The worldhe recently revealed it the risk of contracting uterine cancer is 2.5 times greater in women who use relaxants compared to those who do not use them. It is therefore a question for employment, for health, but also for self-esteem and dignity.

Furthermore, it is only since 2023 that in France there has been a professional qualification certificate for hairdressers dedicated to textured hair. In other words, until then hairdressing professionals were rarely trained on this type of hair, and even less so in a recognized way. So that Hair salons capable of treating textured hair are extremely rare, even though 20% of the French population is affected., estimates the Representative Council of Black Associations of France (CRAN). Of the nearly 100,000 French salons, barely a hundred know how to care for all types of hair, according to estimates by Information about France Daba Diokhané, founder of the Dioka platform. He lists and geolocalizes salons capable of treating frizzy, curly and curly hair, as well as training professionals.

In the United States, a similar law is being studied, the CROWN Act, also against hair discrimination

Across the Atlantic, a similar bill has been under discussion for several months: the CROWN Act (for “ Creating a respectful and open world for natural hair ”, or “creating a respectful and open world for natural hair”). It should protect against hair discrimination by prohibiting the denial of employment and education opportunities based on natural hair texture and protective styles. This law, already in force in around twenty states according to the Economic Policy Institute, is based in particular on a study made public at the beginning of 2023, carried out by Dove & Linkedin, which calculated that two thirds of women of African origin have change haircut to apply for a job.

A form of racism that is rampant and that is even taught to internalize it better

Although it is impossible to establish similar ethnic statistics in France, there are many testimonies of women with textured hair who feel obliged to straighten it, straighten it or hide it under wigs and weaves to prevent it from harming their professional lives. This is what has been said recently to miss career coach Marie Dasylva.

This type of hair discrimination is so common in France that even some foreign schools ban afro cuts, so that we internalize from an early age that what grows naturally on our heads is unprofessional. This is the case, for example, of the private Bel-Air high school in Guadeloupe, whose management believes that it is precisely to “adapt” students to the world of work.

Or the private institute with AMEP contract, in Martinique, where students have been mobilizing for years to change things and finally put an end to this type of hair discrimination. From the Tignon laws of the 18th century to today, too little has changed regarding racism in France.

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