You may have seen in the legal press that a number of firms have signed up to the Halo Collective’s Halo Code.
About the Halo Collective
The Halo Collective are an alliance of organisations and individuals working to create a future without hair discrimination, founded by young Black organisers from The Advocacy Academy. The Halo Collective explains why their exist:
Hair discrimination remains a source of racial injustice with serious consequences for Black people in the UK.
Despite hair being a protected racial characteristic under the law, there is a widely held belief that Black hairstyles are not suited for formal settings, and may be unhygienic, messy, disruptive, or unkempt. These ideas strike at the freedom and dignity of Black people and serve no purpose other than to instil shame in us about our Blackness.
No one should have to change their natural or protective hairstyle in order to thrive. Together, we will ensure that all Black people can learn, work, and live free from hair discrimination.
The Halo Collective
Adopt the Halo Code
1 in 5 Black women feel societal pressure to straighten their hair for work.
For many Black employees, battling workplace dress codes – official or unofficial – is part of everyday life. They are forced to choose between their career on the one hand, and our cultural identity and hair health on the other.
The Halo Collective is working with employers and professional bodies to support them to adopt the Halo Code, the UK’s first Black Hair code. The Halo Code explicitly protects employees who come to work with natural hair and protective hairstyles associated with their racial, ethnic, and cultural identities.
The Halo Code
Our workplace champions the right of staff to embrace all Afro-hairstyles. We acknowledge that Afro-textured hair is an important part of our Black employees’ racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious identities, and requires specific styling for hair health and maintenance.
By signing up to the Halo Code employers are confirming:
- We celebrate Afro-textured hair worn in all styles including, but not limited to, afros, locs, twists, braids, cornrows, fades, hair straightened through the application of heat or chemicals, weaves, wigs, headscarves, and wraps.
- In this workplace, we recognise and celebrate our colleagues’ identities. We are a community built on an ethos of equality and respect where hair texture and style have no bearing on an employees ability to succeed.
- By adopting the Halo Code, employers are proactively taking a stand to ensure that no member of their community faces barriers or judgments because of their Afro-textured hair.
If you are an employee encourage your firm to sign up to the Halo Code. If you are a senior leader you can read more about the code and sign up by filling in this form.
