AH

Age: 30-64 years

Occupation: Insurance Professional

Today, AH wears her hair in locs, but she did not always wear it that way.

In the early 1990s, she worked in sales and trading on Wall Street, which was a very predominantly white male environment. It was an “old boys’ network,” where male colleagues still went out to nude bars at night, a type of bonding women were excluded from. Consequently, women — especially Black women — had to do everything they could to fit in.

“You try so hard to belong, having that hair relaxed and curled and looking just perfect, and wearing the suit — the skirt suit, not even slacks yet,” said AH.

Eventually, however, as she grew older, wiser, and more confident, and as societal attitudes toward Black women’s hair began to change, she decided to cut her hair, grow it out natural, and wear it in braids.

AH transitioned to locs around the time she switched industries and became pregnant with her second child. She explained her thought process: paying for eight hours of babysitting and eight hours of hair-braiding is expensive, but having a baby in the hospital with your hair relaxed is “just a mess,” and putting chemicals in your hair could be a health concern.

Additionally, leaving Wall Street, AH felt she could make a change and go natural. Because of her credentials, she knew her colleagues in her new workplace would have to accept her and respect her regardless of her hairstyle. She felt more confident.

“They’re going to have to accept me for the way that I am,” she said. “I felt more confident!”

Of course, there is still prejudice in the workplace — but AH sees it this way:

“Regardless of how I wore my hair, when I sit across from someone in the room, they see me as a Black woman. Therefore, I am going to wear my hair the way I want to wear it.”