52 YO Woman Fired for Refusing to Color Hair

[Caldonia Sun]

Another age discrimination story. Hope she wins her case.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/7643411.html

[silverjen]

How infuriating! So wrong...

[Kaelee]

Sigh. *Shakes head sadly*

[ArienEllariel]

They demanded that she dye her hair and change her appearance to look younger?? And wear more expensive looking blingy jewelry? The nerve of some people!

What has that got to do with her job? Nothing I'd say. I hope she wins her case too.

[luthein]

A snippet from the article:
"I'd hire a 150-year-old individual if they were worthy," said Shaddock, adding that he has gray hair, too"

EGADS! An older MALE with grey hair? <sarcasm>

[monsterna]

Agist and sexist. What will ever stop it? If we force men to work without pants on so every woman can get a good look at it, and then burst out into hysterical laughter? Might work then.

[pittsburgpam]

Agist and sexist. What will ever stop it? If we force men to work without pants on so every woman can get a good look at it, and then burst out into hysterical laughter? Might work then.

HA HA HA!!! Lets see their spindly little legs and knobby knees too!

I find it a little ironic that her lawyer's name is Dowdy.

[RitaPG]

I totally understand that people should look nice, clean and presentable for work, but telling someone to dye hair, wear "younger fancy suits and lots of fancy jewelry" is just stupid.
I hope she wins the case.

[AnnaJamila]

Poor lady! What did they expect? For her to come to work the next day all dolled up like Fran Drescher on The Nanny?

[Kaelee]

Requiring someone to alter their NATURAL hair color should be illegal. It's different if she'd dyed it pink, lol, but to tell her that she must permanently or semi- permanently change her NATURAL appearance is completely and totally wrong. I don't care if she's 18 or 80, male or female.

[jacqueline101]

I think that you should look nice when you go to work. I dont think jewelry and nice suits fit the bill. I mean by looking nice is dressing within dress code and looking professional.

[pixi_stix]

If she is telling the truth she deserves to win. What would have happen if she had dyed her hair only to discover she was allergic to it. A balloon face wouldn't look very young and professional

[Kaelee]

I really hope she does win. Unfortuneately, (I think - I'm not a legal expert by any means!) cases like this are her word against theirs. Unless there are witnesses willing to testify (and even if there are) there's no way to actually PROVE anything.

[MissHair]

Im glad she protested. I understand that you have to adapt to your choise of occupation, look decent, dress decent ect depending on what you work with but altering someones BODY goes completely against nature in my opinion.

[MagicAndMayhem]

Wow, I can't believe this happened in USA (or can I?). And who says gray hair isn't upscale? It looks distinguished, George Clooney has it.

[gthlvrmx]

Agist and sexist. What will ever stop it? If we force men to work without pants on so every woman can get a good look at it, and then burst out into hysterical laughter? Might work then.
I love it, let's do it!

[mrs_coffee]

If she is telling the truth she deserves to win.

I agree. It's ridiculous that someone can be fired for aging naturally.

[kamikaze hair]

this type of discrimination is ILLEGAL!!! so wrong, especially when in this day and age where everyone has to look "perfect" and she has picked the brave choice in not acting "perfect", and this that i'm sure she was still rocking up to work looking presentable and professional. There is nothing wrong with NOT wanting to dye your hair, if its her natural hair colour they really are not allowed to do this!!

:cheese:OUTRAGED OUTRAGED OUTRAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the cheese is OUTRAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!

[Nae]

Idiots. This world is filled with idiots. Why would they think that that would be okay? Their mothers need to smack all of them really, really hard. Grrrrr.

I am going to go and get a cup of coffee to grumble into. The bunch of idiots.

[Cardinal]

And THIS is why I still color my hair and take care of my appearance.
I support my household and cannot afford to get fired. I work with the public and am expected to both LOOK and act professional.

I also find that when I wear makeup, jewelry and and professional clothes, the public does treat me differently, than when I wear my jeans on "dressdown" Friday.

I feel sorry for the woman and hope she wins her case, but I embrace reality and prefer not to have to job hunt right now.

[pepperminttea]

This is disgusting. :mad: It's such a 'pick and choose' market for employers because jobs are so scarce and nobody can afford to lose theirs. As long as you are clean and smartly dressed for an office job, your appearance shouldn't affect how well you can do your job.

[ArienEllariel]

And THIS is why I still color my hair and take care of my appearance.
I support my household and cannot afford to get fired. I work with the public and am expected to both LOOK and act professional.

I also find that when I wear makeup, jewelry and and professional clothes, the public does treat me differently, than when I wear my jeans on "dressdown" Friday.

I feel sorry for the woman and hope she wins her case, but I embrace reality and prefer not to have to job hunt right now.

I understand this completely. It's just awful that women even have to worry about this in order to keep their jobs. It shouldn't be an issue. And men can get away with greying in the workplace. They're seen as "distinguished", "seasoned", "experienced". Women can be seen as... well old, outdated, matronly. There shouldn't be such a double standard. :mad:

[boomtownrat]

Agist and sexist. What will ever stop it? If we force men to work without pants on so every woman can get a good look at it, and then burst out into hysterical laughter? Might work then.

Monsterna, I like the cut of your jib. :)

To dye white hair or not should be a matter of preference and not some kind of societal pressure or expectation. I think the more women there are who are willing to stop dyeing their white hair, the less likely this is to happen. It's a strength in numbers situation. Not that I think everybody should stop dyeing their hair -- again, that should be a matter of preference.

[akka naeda]

Thats bad.

And to the people saying they colour their hair because of the present job market, and they're scared they'd lose their jobs if they didn't....

Generally I am a self employed dry stone waller, so I work outdoors and am judged on my ability to produce a wall, rather than on my appearance. However, I'm aware lifting heavy stone can damage your back, so in order that I don't have a massive gap on my CV should anything like that happen to me, I have just applied for (and got) 2 jobs. (This says nothing about the number I applied for and didn't get because I don't have the experience!)

One is as a temp for a chain store (Next, if anyone is interested), and the other is as a part time receptionist for a 5* hotel. Neither place has suggested I dye my hair to cover the white, and if they did, they'd be told where to go.

[boomtownrat]

And THIS is why I still color my hair and take care of my appearance.
I support my household and cannot afford to get fired. I work with the public and am expected to both LOOK and act professional.

I also find that when I wear makeup, jewelry and and professional clothes, the public does treat me differently, than when I wear my jeans on "dressdown" Friday.

I feel sorry for the woman and hope she wins her case, but I embrace reality and prefer not to have to job hunt right now.

What is it about white hair that is supposedly unprofessional?

[JuliaDancer]

Requiring someone to alter their NATURAL hair color should be illegal. It's different if she'd dyed it pink, lol, but to tell her that she must permanently or semi- permanently change her NATURAL appearance is completely and totally wrong. I don't care if she's 18 or 80, male or female.

I completely agree. If she came in with outrageous hair and makeup, that's one thing, but having grey hair and non-fancy jewelry shouldn't affect her job. What's next, requiring face lifts and boob jobs?

[Caldonia Sun]

I've had to change jobs a few times in the last few years due to moving. I've had no problem getting hired although my hair is silver. But, I work in non-profits and they seem to be less rigid about appearances. It's a good thing because I cannot color my hair. I did for 15 years, but my scalp rebelled and I can no longer put harsh chemicals on it.

This type of discrimination is wrong. The pressure on women to conform to a certain look invalidates who they are and what they have to offer.

[SwordWomanRiona]

This is horrible. Just horrible and disgusting and outrageous!! How dare they?!!!
Blast Patriarchy, why do they think they have the right to tell women how to be and look and act?!!! (it would be as wrong if they demanded that a man dyed his hair, of course, but let's face it, that's much more uncommon in a Patriarchal society).

[newbeginning]

Agist and sexist. What will ever stop it? If we force men to work without pants on so every woman can get a good look at it, and then burst out into hysterical laughter? Might work then.

Haha! Perfect!

[whitestiletto]

:twocents: **** the man, and **** patriarchy too.

[nena_shawty]

Idiots. This world is filled with idiots. Why would they think that that would be okay? Their mothers need to smack all of them really, really hard. Grrrrr.

I am going to go and get a cup of coffee to grumble into. The bunch of idiots.

lol OMG like almost the same thing I said to myself.. and i love coffee.. lol
they are idiots they should be drop kicked ...:rant: I think I'll join you in that cup of coffee..:(

[Babyfine]

Ageist and Sexist to the max- and of course, if she were a man, that boss would likely have not problem with her grey hair.
I think if I were her I would sue, and say that I'm allergic to hair dye to boot.(No I don't believe in lying, but this just makes me so mad.)

[Nae]

lol OMG like almost the same thing I said to myself.. and i love coffee.. lol
they are idiots they should be drop kicked ...:rant: I think I'll join you in that cup of coffee..:(

You are more than welcome to come share a cuppa Joe with me anytime. Even better if you feel like grumbling along with me about the state of the idiot-laden world. ;)

[racrane]

I hope she wins the case as well.

[Alaia]

I don't get it. They are saying that because ONE customer didn't want to work with her there is no job left for her? Surely they have more than one customer...

Utterly, utterly, ridiculous. I hope she wins.

[heidi w.]

Well, it seems we have a he said/she said case. The burden of proof is upon the defendant, this woman filing the claim.

I agree, however, that employer's more and more care about how one dresses for a job. I know at my workplace they do. The men wear ties every single day, and business attire suits every day. Women are required to wear stockings, no sandals without stockings, if you wear a dress. Appropriate jewelry and makeup.....

I am very aware of how I dress for this job. I'd like to keep this job.

Would I color my hair for these people? That would be very tough for me to decide to do; however, I was recently instructed that for reasons of safety I should always wear my hair up. I can live with that because I do wear it up 99% of the time anyway.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

I don't get it. They are saying that because ONE customer didn't want to work with her there is no job left for her? Surely they have more than one customer...

Utterly, utterly, ridiculous. I hope she wins.

That one lone customer provides 30 to 40 cases per month according to the article. SO if one customer doesn't want to interact with her anymore, or is going elsewhere with business, yep, she's out of a job.

I wonder that such a promoted individual, however, couldn't have been switched with someone else if this customer supposedly didn't want to work with her.

I have a friend who is blind in one eye. A while back she received a negative review, and based on the language of the review it was clear people were declaring to her boss that she was "rude". Well, I advised she write a response that included an explanation that she is blind in one eye, and that if people approach her from that side, she can't see them approaching at all, not even peripherally. And that it can appear that she's not looking at them when she or they are talking, if they don't know which eye to look at and follow (we all follow the other's eyes when talking with someone).

So this lady has had gray hair since her early 20s.....most people don't understand that, and gray hair is strongly, and yet unfortunately so, associated with dingy and old and outdated.

But this is going to be a case where proof really matters. He said/she said.

I'd like to get at the root of what was said by the client that supposedly no longer wanted to work with her. When she's promoted and clearly capable otherwise.

heidi w.

[IanB]

Nobody should suffer from any form of discrimination these days, but still people do.

[Nightshade]

I don't get it. They are saying that because ONE customer didn't want to work with her there is no job left for her? Surely they have more than one customer...

Utterly, utterly, ridiculous. I hope she wins.


Well, in her job as an escrow branch manager, if a customer doesn't want to work with her, that could be a huge blow to their business. Also ftfa:


Her job was to close real estate transactions, which requires coordination among buyers, sellers, lenders, insurance companies and real estate agents. Her main account was a builder that generated 35 to 40 closings a month.


Capital Title of Texas said in a statement that it didn't terminate Rawline because of her age or appearance, but because one of its customers no longer wanted to do business with her. "Since the customer refused to work with her any longer, there would be no job left for her," according to the statement, which did not detail reasons for the customer's preference. The company added that three employees who are 64 years old still work with the customer.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/7643411.html#ixzz1RovBWNN4




Really, as much as I'd like to cry discrimination and outrage nobody complains about their account manager because of their hair color. They complain because their account manager isn't, well, managing their account well.

So here's what I understand happened: Company was moving the branch to a more upscale area. They asked/told the woman in the article (and I'm sure the rest of the employees) that the customers here will expect a higher set of dress protocol than was needed at the previous location. I doubt they use the word "fancy" and that seems to be something the woman in the article summed it up as.

Move happens, woman's accounts aren't doing well. While the woman in the article says that she never heard from anyone that her accounts weren't happy with her... why would they? Her accounts went right to her manager probably fearing that a complaint to her might actually hurt their accounts more. She's bucking against the new dress code rules AND she works in a right to work state. She's let go.


I get the feeling that if the woman in the article had been managing her accounts well, had embraced the other aspects of the new dress code and offered to put her hair up in a tucked and professional updo the color of it wouldn't have been a fire-worthy offense.

In any event, I think there's more to this case than just what's presented in the article.

[heidi w.]

I gree with Nightshade. This woman was told something and she chose not to listen to the basic message that we all need to dress better, or appear better, for our job.

IF she'd put it up daily in a french twist and undertaken to dress better, that may have made some difference. At least it would've communicated trying.

And here she is in the picture with her hair and a sleeveless dress. I would NEVER wear a sleeveless dress at work. Ever. Always some form of a jacket.

But that's me. While she looks nice in her picture, for my understanding, she does not look entirely professional, maybe business casual, but not professional.

And it's not the hair I'm going by. It's the sleeveless dress.

Cases like this make everyone look a whole lot closer.

There's more to this case than is being displayed in this article. This is a situation where an attempt to curry favor amongst the public won't overly mitigate the letter of the law and the rules thereby that she has to follow. That is: prove her case. Just because she says it this way, doesn't mean it was this way. Just because they responded their way doesn't mean it's all their way.

A customer is never gonna tell to their face, "Hey man, we aren't getting a good response from clients we're steering your direction that they don't like how you look, and thus, don't want to work with you" They're going to tell her boss that people don't want to work with her. They're going to summarize and not be too detailed.

People these days want a lot for their money, and yet, we're all being charged a lot for stuff. They want a lot for the money they spend.

It's unfortunate she lost her job over this. She was making good money, for the economy we currently have.


heidi w.

[hyettf16]

If anything I would prefer to have someone with gray hair. I would see them as wise, like they know what they are talking about.

[Nightshade]

If anything I would prefer to have someone with gray hair. I would see them as wise, like they know what they are talking about.

I'm being 100% serious when I say that there are some professions, including law, where a young firm will hire more mature people for just those reasons. They're perceived as having wisdom and experience, and the term for them in this capacity is actually "gray matter."

[Áine]

There is more to this story, I'm sure of it. I also have a hunch that whatever it is that the company management told this woman, they may not have handled it in the best manner possible.

Ageism and sexism might have played a factor in the way she was told to do something, but until all the facts are laid out, we really don't know what was actually said behind closed doors.

[Kaelee]

Agreed with Aine, I want to know the whole story. It's easy for someone to misinterpret or twist something...

I have to wonder a little too...didn't she actually lose her job a while ago? It says in the article that she hasn't been able to find that high a paying job since...is she just going after them NOW for this percieved gross injustice? Not that it changes the facts (whatever they are) but it is possible she couldn't find a better job so decided to try to get money out of them on down the road.

If her leading client did indeed want to drop her from their service, there has to be a reason other than grey hair and lack of flashy jewelery.

[Kelli Kat]

I agree with Aine and Kaelee. I have to wonder if maybe she got fired for cause and then when she couldn't find as good as paying job, decided to sue to make some cash. Working in a law office, we see it happen all of the time. They know companies will settle because its cheaper than paying lawyers to go to trial.

[KiwiLiz]

If anything I would prefer to have someone with gray hair. I would see them as wise, like they know what they are talking about.

But isn't that just agism directed at some one else?

I had a job as a sales assistant in a home wares store, this is an industry dominated by young women. I was 21-22, but small and baby faced, so often mistaken for being a 15 year old. People would naturally assume that because I'm apparently so young I must be so stupid as well. I knew the products and how that store worked better than any one else in the store, more than the older - so automatically more capable, sales assistants. Customers would often ask for a second opinion from "someone who knows what they're talking about", and then the older "wiser" sales assistant would direct them back to me.

Age may indicate more experience, but not necessarily, and I don't think it should ever be taken as an indicator of capability.

[archel]

I was told when I worked in retail that women in the workplace should either have short hair or wear it up every day. I'm still miffed about that one... and glad I work from home. Screw your rules, I'm not even gonna wear a BRA to work. SO THERE.