The purpose of professional attire is to give the perception of competency in a specific position. It can visually represent a person’s position within a company’s hierarchy and indicate the type of establishment that a customer or client is entering. The definition of professional attire can vary from a company uniform or scrubs to a suit and anything in between. However, who determines what professional attire and appearance are? How is a person deemed in or out of compliance?
What professional attire is and why
The most direct answer is that professional attire and appearance are determined by the required duties of the job. Clothing, jewelry and hair should not impede the safety and ease of completing tasks. Attire and appearance should also be aligned with the company’s policies and vision.
If that is the case, then why is there so much confusion about what it means to be professionally dressed, and more specifically, why are there so many more rules, both written and unwritten, when it comes to women and femme-presenting individuals? Professional attire and appearance are determined by those who hold the dominant identity in the community and their cultural values, and in the United States, the dominant identity is white, cis, heterosexual males.
The history of discrimination
We have a long history of policing and punishing girls and women for how they present themselves, particularly BIPOC girls and women. We see higher rates of Black girls from preschool through college being suspended and expelled, and the number-one reason is their hair. It is not just how their hair is styled and maintained but also how it grows naturally out of our heads and whether or not it is considered “neat or kept.” From protective styles like locs and braids to natural fros and puffs, Black hair and kinky curly hair are considered the antithesis of professional appearance.
How to express yourself
Staying true to your authentic identity when rules are arbitrarily assigned based on the preference of those in power is a challenge. One option is to work in a field or environment that celebrates your expression.
There are other creative ways to express your authentic identity at work, through footwear, hair jewelry, nail color and art or finding stylists and designers that embody your style within the guidelines of your employer. Following influencers who demonstrate how to express your identity through gender-affirming, size-empowering and/or culturally representative options can show you ways to conform to guidelines while remaining faithful to how you express your identity. Shop brands that cater to cultural expression while offering styles that align with the common definitions of professional attire which could include, hijabs, dresses and/or skirts in traditional and Indigenous prints and patterns.
The call for change
These options and others come at a cost to the employee to conform to the employer’s standards. Moreso, it can be demoralizing when a person receives a consequence for how they expressed their identity when that expression was not harmful to others and did not impede them from doing their job. The push for conformity to the dominant identity’s cultural definition of professional appearance has lasting impacts on how people see themselves and their relationship with their own culture.
So how do we change? It starts with advocacy in policy and practice. Dr. Tiffany Kyser of Indiana University reminds us that diversity, equity and inclusion work must be done from a “top down, bottom up, inside out” approach. To create welcoming and inclusive work environments, both individuals and organizational frameworks must adjust to a growing world. Leadership needs to look at what is important for completing the task at hand. It takes someone from the dominant identity to use their privilege, power and access to shift others’ views on company policy and expectations.
Combining advocacy in policy and practice with national policy is another way we have seen effective change begin to happen. Learning about inclusive practices, understanding your own identity and how it influences your decisions and beliefs and engaging in learning about other cultures and the intersection of multiple diversity dimensions allows leaders to expand their contextual knowledge and help develop new practices.
Legislation like The Crown Act, which aims to end hair discrimination in schools and the workplace, and has been enacted in 24 states, including Minnesota, allows individuals to seek legal action if they have faced discrimination based on their hair. Using diverse and culturally competent hiring committees, having equity and inclusion statements in your job postings, and engaging with underrepresented communities to codesign appearance and conduct policies all expand who will apply to work with your organization.
Statements to customers and clients should show how your company values its employees; about what they bring to work and less about how they look when they complete their work. Stating your organization’s definition of professional, inclusive and welcoming environments informs the perception of others before they engage with your organization.
As leaders and entrepreneurs, we can start anew. Rebrand what it means to be professional to be inclusive of all abilities, cultures, genders and identities. Recruitment costs more than retention, and retaining people who can authentically exist in their work environment, is a key component of the longevity of a business. We still exist in a world that will not accept everyone for how they present themselves. We know that those with intersecting identities carry the additional weight of discrimination based on their tone, appearance and expressions beyond how they style themselves. We all play a role in uplifting and continuing a system of equity by participating in it as employees and employers. What we can do is start to adjust our perceptions of what it means to be authentically professional and advocate for new practices in the spaces we occupy.
