Published
Video length: 1 min
Hair discrimination: what does the current law say on the subject?
On Thursday March 28, the National Assembly adopted a bill aimed at penalizing “hair discrimination”, particularly in the field of work. It must now go before the Senate. What does the law currently say on the subject?
(franceinfo)
On Thursday March 28, the National Assembly adopted a bill aimed at penalizing “hair discrimination”, particularly in the field of work. It must now go before the Senate. What does the law currently say on the subject?
The year is 2012. Aboubakar Traoré is a steward, and his employer forces him to wear a wig at work to hide his dreadlocks. A practice that is now prohibited and described as “hair discrimination”. This ban could be strengthened. In France, the law already covers 25 grounds for discrimination at work, such as age, sex and physical appearance, of which hairstyle is already one. This last point could soon be clarified, by adding to this list discrimination relating to the cut, color, length or even texture of hair.
The text must now pass to the Senate
For Kenza Bel Kenadil, influencer and activist against hair discrimination, it was necessary to go further in the law. “It’s a recognition already for all the people who experience this on a daily basis, who have lost jobs because of it. So it’s a bit of taking away from them this mental burden that they may have had all their lives”, she indicates. The text will now have to go before the Senate, before being adopted, after the deputies gave the green light on Thursday March 28.
