AUSTIN, Texas — How often has your hair dictated your treatment in the workplace? Many minorities have been met with maltreatment due to their ethnic hairstyles on the job, but the Austin City Council has been eyeing a national hair movement to eradicate this problem since 2019.

The CROWN Act, meaning “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” would enact a change to city code as it adheres to the definition of “Discriminatory Employment Practice.”

The act was just approved Wednesday, and it looks like “Protective Hairstyles” will now fall under Austin’s defined discriminatory practices in the workplace. This can be described as “a hair texture or hairstyle commonly associated with race, national origin, ethnicity, or culture, and includes but is not limited to afros, bantu knots, braids, cornrows, curls, locs, twists, or hair that is tightly coiled or tightly curled.”

“The impact of race-based hair discrimination can last a lifetime,” said Civil Rights Officer Carol Johnson. “We know that discrimination hurts and this is particularly harrowing when it impacts our children, scarring their self-esteem.”

Just off the basis of one’s hair, social stigmas relating to racial stereotypes tend to be attached, resulting in unfair conduct. According to the City of Austin, “Discrimination based on hair texture or hairstyle results in a denial of basic civil rights, including educational, housing, employment opportunities and places of public accommodation.”

City officials and civil rights activists worked together to host community forums to discover beneficial information and the necessary protections for people to feel at ease in being their authentic self.

“Austin will be a much better City for the protections we will bring to those who live, work and play here. Too often minorities are judged not only by the color of their skin, but also by the texture of their hair,” said Johnson. “Across the country we continue to see the harmful effects of racial discrimination due to natural hair and many states and cities are finding ways to address this through CROWN Act legislation.”

The CROWN coalition helped to elevate the hair discrimination movement, with the U.S. having passed the CROWN Act in March 2022 and the bill now en route to the Senate for a vote. The City of Austin wanted to get ahead of addressing hair discrimination before national protections are implemented.