David’s Bridal says it has updated its dress code policy after a Global News report on Wednesday showcased a woman who said she was left off the schedule at one of its locations due to her head scarf.
“It was brought to our attention this week that an employee in one of our Canada stores was asked to remove her non-religious head scarf during her shift, per company dress code,” spokesperson Callie Canfield told Global News on Thursday. “We regret to have caused embarrassment or discomfort of any kind with this employee and want to stress that at David’s Bridal, we welcome our employees to be themselves at work, and we never tolerate discrimination of any kind.
“We have taken this experience to heart, and, as of today, have updated our dress code policy, allowing employees to wear head scarves as part of their professional work wardrobe. ”
Scarborough resident Sarah Adisa said in the winter she wraps her hair up in a black scarf due to her hair’s texture, which she said breaks in the cold weather.
But she said, she never knew wrapping her hair in the scarf would cost her a job.
“’We don’t allow head wraps over any sorts,’ that’s what she said. ‘We don’t allow head wraps of any sort, it’s not part of our policy here,’” Adisa claimed she was told by the store manager of David’s Bridal in Scarborough.
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Adisa said she originally felt pressure to work an occasional Sunday shift, after she specified she couldn’t work due to “religious reasons.” She said after she said no to that, the manager focused on her head scarf.
READ MORE: EU’s decision to allow companies to ban headscarves called a ‘backdoor to prejudice’
Adisa said she told the manager the scarf wasn’t for religious reasons and tried to explain the reasoning behind her wearing it.
“It will break, especially around the front part. It balds or breaks off,” she said she indicated, pointing to the sides of her head. She said the only alternative is to braid her hair, but that that costs a lot of money.
In response, she said the manager took her off the schedule.
“She got a pencil and erased me off the schedule. She said, ‘Come in when you get your hair done, you can give me a call, and I can reschedule it,'” Adisa said. “I felt really humiliated and just embarrassed.”
On Wednesday, David’s Bridal told Global News “our HR team is addressing and we do not tolerate discrimination of any kind.” On Thursday, they followed that up with the statement above.
Adisa told Global News that she’s very happy with the response from the store.
“I am relieved to know that speaking up about something that has been truly humiliating for me has brought about policy change around headscarves at David’s Bridal,” she said. “I am also glad that from now on, current and future employees no longer need to worry about discrimination based on their hair type and how they choose to protect it.
“I hope that this will challenge more organizations to review similar policies.”
https://twitter.com/caryn_lieberman/status/1088496564602052608
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