Woman Starts Wearing 'Terrible Wigs' At Work After Office Bans Her Pink Hair

Navigating the corporate world often involves understanding unspoken guidelines regarding employees' appearances. Just as visible tattoos are typically discouraged in Indian government jobs, private companies also tend to expect their employees to maintain a certain level of professionalism, particularly within the workplace.

In response to such expectations, a woman in the United States donned an unconventional wig after her corporate office raised concerns about her colored hair. This incident sheds light on the balance between personal style and workplace norms.

Emily Benschoter, a corporate employee, had a bright pink streak in her hair.

However, when she started a job in the hospitality industry, her office asked her to hide her colored hair.

Living in Georgia, Benschoter talked about her experience in an interview with Newsweek.

In the discussion, the 29-year-old expressed herself as someone who values self-expression and feels self-assured with her pink hair.

She was chosen for a front-of-house role based on a video interview, where it was hard for the interviewer to see her hair color. However, the issue arose when she arrived at the office, where different hair colors might be seen as unprofessional or distracting.

She asked her manager for advice to keep her job, and the manager recommended wearing a wig in a natural color.

¡°Dying my hair for a job I work for 40 hours per week wasn¡¯t an option. So, I came up with a solution to keep the job and my hair. I prefer my pink hair as it¡¯s me to my core. So now I purposely pick wacky wigs, which is quite funny,¡± she told Newsweek.

She also thinks it's "dehumanizing" that her appearance, precisely her unconventional hair color, prevents her from being accepted for who she is at face value.

Benschoter, known for her TikTok videos, first shared her concern on the platform.

On July 19, she wore a bad blonde wig in one of her posts, accompanied by a caption that read, "When you have pink hair, but corporate does not approve, so you wear terrible wigs," as reported by the Independent.

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The CROWN Act, Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, was established in the United States in 2019 to combat racial hairstyle discrimination.

It offers legal protection for natural protective hairstyles like braids, locs, twists, and knots in workplaces and public schools. However, this doesn't apply to Benschoter's situation because her pink hair is not considered natural.

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