The statement made me wonder whether many women on Black Enterprise’s 75 Most Powerful Women in Business list wore their hair in natural or “ethnic” hairstyles. A cursory glance produced about five, including Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox and one of the most powerful women in business. I couldn’t think of any C-suite men who had locs or short afros. When I informed the young woman on Facebook what I found, she countered that those five women were at the top of their game, and that their hair may not have been “kinky” on the way up. Hmmm. She’s got a point.

I’m a believer in freedom of expression when it comes to appearance. I definitely do NOT believe that all Black people should wear their hair natural. But for those who choose to, the idea that you can’t succeed in business if you choose to leave your naturally curly hair, curly, really bothers me.

So, when I pitched the idea for an article about natural hair in the C-suite at a recent meeting, a few of my BLACK ENTERPRISE colleagues said that the way in which one wore their hair was an expression of fashion; something meant to change with the seasons and maturity. Others thought the issue had been played in the media too many times. And some just wondered why anyone would care about expressing their self through hair if they were unemployed and in desperate need of work.

Then there were those like me who asked the same question that actress Tracie Thoms did in Chris Rock’s movie Good Hair. Why is it that wearing one’s hair, the way God created it such a revolutionary idea? After debating our different perspectives for the next 10-15 minutes, we all realized this was truly a divisive issue worth covering.

Why is natural hair such a big deal? Here is some background for anyone who is completely clueless on the subject and a reminder for those who already know. There is a negative stigma attached to natural Black hair in the United States and frankly in most places of the world. The story starts way before the current natural hair craze that some people think is a fad, and before the 1970′s when afros became popular as a “political statement” for activists who wanted to revel in “Black beauty” but was then temporarily accepted by the rest of the Black community and White ones too.

In the 1800′s and early 1900′s nappy, kinky, curly, hair was deemed inferior, ugly, and unkempt in comparison to the flowing, bouncy, hair of people from other cultures. The caricatures of Blacks that surfaced during that time in movies, children’s books, on laundry detergent, and food products were commonplace and they taught Blacks and Whites alike to loathe the appearance of Black hair and to associate it with dirtiness, unruliness and even character traits like laziness and dishonesty.

While the dark complexions, wider noses, and fuller lips of Blacks were also disparaged, the texture of our hair was the only thing that we could realistically and drastically change (at that time) about our appearance to escape those negative associations. And making that change was encouraged as Blacks who straightened their hair were deemed more likable, agreeable, and dependable by Whites; even more employable.

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Unfortunately, in my opinion, that sentiment still exists, although I do believe that fewer Whites and more Blacks actually believe it to be true. If you haven’t noticed recently, Black women with kinky hair dominate the same commercials that are cast by all White ad agencies (that is the only time you’ll hear me giving Madison Avenue props). It’s mostly Blacks, not Whites who have internalized the hype from 100 years earlier and who just won’t let it go.

The aspiration to straighten and lengthen our hair wasn’t all bad. The money that was created from Black businesses like Madame C. J. Walker, Dudley Hair Care Products, and hundreds of thousands of Black beauty parlors has done some good for the Black community. It also led us to experiment with our hair and pave innovative roads in hair fashion. But our obsession with straight flowing hair has also caused us to allow some people to take advantage of us financially.

As a woman who chooses to wear my hair in natural styles, it’s disheartening to me that I receive more negative comments from Blacks about my hair then I’ve ever received from Whites.

That’s not to say that White people don’t still feel nappy Black hair is hideous, but they aren’t as vocal about it and when they are, they’re usually condemned as racist. Remember the White staffer from Glamour magazine who told a group of lawyers that ethnic hairstyles were a fashion don’t when it came to corporate dress?  She was reprimanded and the editor and managing editor of the magazine was made to apologize publicly on her behalf.

Meanwhile, day in and day out, Black women and men tell other Black women and men the exact same things without any condemnation.

Now, having said all of that, I’m going to contradict myself (Hey, Blacks are not a monolithic group and my opinions don’t walk a straight line either). The unemployment rate fell to 9% recently, but it is still 15.7% for Blacks not including the under-employed, marginally attached, and discouraged workers. The reality is that your chances for getting a job and getting promoted are lessened when you don’t conform/assimilate to an ideal, predefined standard of appearance in certain industries. Is it right? No. Is there something you can do about that? Yes. If you’ve demonstrated that you have an incomparable work ethic, you can tame your company’s most challenging projects, and you’ve dotted every I or crossed every T on your resume but you still aren’t getting hired or promoted, then you have three choices: 1) Change industries 2) start your own company or 3) conform and straighten your hair and/or cut your locs.

At any cost, as Indie.Arie once reminded us, we are NOT our hair, and if you cut it, it will grow back. And that’s just what you can do once you’ve proven your worth and scaled the company hierarchy. At which point you can start hiring some of those people who were in your shoes and make sure they don’t have to walk the “fine line” in order to make the cut.

• What do you think? Can natural hair and professionalism co-exist? Or should we all expect to conform when we take (or apply for) positions in various companies? Should it matter how you wear your hair as long as you present yourself well? Join the conversation by leaving your comment below.

For more information on natural hair in the workplace:

• Read: Lock-Out: Virginia Moving Co. Says Dreadlocks Reason for Not Hiring a Man
• Watch: The Controversy Over Good Hair, Part I and II
• Watch: Chris Rock and Nia Long Talk Hair

Make new connections. As chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel had been characterized as an abrasive, take-no-prisoners manager while his predecessor, Pete Rouse was an interim chief of staff with a more collegial, low- key style. Their replacement, William Daley, a former JP Morgan Chase exec who served as Clinton’s Commerce Secretary and Al Gore’s presidential campaign manager, is considered the consummate strategist. Although some on the left have bristled at his Wall Street credentials, the appointment has been praised by most executives and politicians, including two operatives on different ideological poles: liberal former Democratic National Committee head Howard Dean and ultra-conservative Republican strategist Karl Rove. Daley’s centrist leaning and negotiation skills are expected to prove helpful with the Republican-controlled House as well attractive to independents. He can also help bolster the connection with a corporate community upset by the administration’s policies and “anti-business rhetoric.” Managers and entrepreneurs can follow suit, identifying new team members who can bring a different set of skills, credentials and contacts to make inroads into new markets or open doors to valuable business contacts and partnerships.

Experience counts. It’s important to bring aboard key personnel who are well versed in crisis management and contingency planning. In rebuilding his economic team, Obama tapped Gene Sperling, who replaced Lawrence Summers as National Economic Director and new Budget Director Jacob Lew, both helped Bill Clinton battle another Republican-controlled Congress intent on derailing that Democratic presidential administration. It’s also vital to create a braintrust of outside advisors. For instance, the president has sought the counsel of brilliant execs like Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox Corp. and one of BE’s 100 Most Powerful Executives, to help lead his national export and tech initiatives as well as savvy entrepreneurs such as John W. Rogers, Jr., the BE 100s CEO who runs Chicago-based mutual fund manager Ariel Investments, to head the Presidential Advisory Board on Financial Capability to review financial literacy and consumer protection policies.

Communications matter. Despite his string of legislative victories – health care reform, financial reform and nuclear arms reduction treaty, to name just a few – Obama has routinely been taken to task by politicians, pundits and the public for his inability to connect with constituents during his sophomore year. In fact, he has often joined his chorus of critics. With a new team in place, the president has a laser-beam focus on jobs and revamped communications apparatus that includes a stable of more effective spokespersons. It’s just as important for managers and entrepreneurs to deliver clear, coherent messages related to their vision and company’s mission to all stakeholders –customers, suppliers and employees— in informal settings and public forum. Top-notch advisors and surrogates can provide valuable input to sharpen your organization’s message.

Of course, it’s too soon to tell if the management shake-up at the White House will prove successful. Operating in the same mode, however, can doom any administration or organization to failure. With the right hands executives gain the best chance of success – whether it’s you or the President of the United States.

Read more small business advice:

• What you can learn from…Sean Diddy Combs’s branding strategy
• 5 mistakes millionaire entrepreneurs make
• Your small business checklist: 11 ways to get your house in order for 2011

Honors starred in a series of videos, featuring simulated sex acts, racy shower scenes and gay slurs, while he was second-in-command of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier sailing the Persian Gulf during the Iraq War in 2006 and 2007. After videos were released by the Virginian-Pilot newspaper and caused a national stir last week, Admiral John C. Harvey, Jr., head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, cited Honor’s actions as a “profound lack of good judgment and professionalism.” Harvey has also launched a probe to determine if other senior Navy officials knew about the films.

The captain has since become a digital martyr of sorts, gaining support from thousands of current and retired sailors who claim he shouldn’t be thrown overboard for using humor to boost morale. Others say he was sacrificed on the altar of political correctness. In fact, a Facebook page in his defense gained about 6,000 followers in one day.

Honors may have been trying to lift spirits at wartime, but his job certainly was not to create his ribald version of McHale’s Navy. He put cheap jokes before decorum and dignity. Moreover, he mocked those who found the videos offensive, saying their objections were “sent gutlessly through other channels.”

The crude videos can be a teaching moment for corporate managers about leadership, especially young execs on the rise. Those who engage in such bold but foolish acts will not only potentially sully their companies’ reputation but find themselves on the unemployment line. Managers must have a well-tuned antenna in today’s environment: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported this week that workers in the private sector filed a record number of discrimination charges against employers, up 21% from fiscal 2007. So in these economically strained times, it becomes increasing important for managers to set the proper tone and engage in practices that foster inclusion in the workplace.

BLACK ENTERPRISE has written hundreds of articles on leadership over the years, interviewing some of the nation’s most powerful executives. During times of  peace or turmoil, troops — whether in the military or major companies — respond to courage, intelligence, candor, tenacity and gravitas. One of corporate America’s most celebrated CEOs, Kenneth Chenault steered American Express employees through 9/11 and the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. In his countless lectures, he has maintained that “what you want to do as a leader is create a trusting relationship with your people . To do that, you have to stand for something.” Another such leader, retired Aetna Chairman and CEO Ronald A. Williams changed a culture executives once described as “poisonous” to a team environment focused on getting things done. Williams stressed values he posted on the company’s walls: “Attack the issue, not the person” and “Assume positive intent.”

Humor can be extremely valuable in building morale but it must serve as a tool to relieve stress and build camaraderie, not a weapon that denigrates team members or torpedoes your organization’s standing. You have to know your audience and venue: a good-spirited joke among a the familiar few tends not to translate among thousands. Just because everyone in the room may laugh, it doesn’t mean some haven’t been offended. And if such remarks or skits have been taped or recorded then the world owns them through the Internet and social media.

It all comes down to judgment and focus. When asked what she learned about leadership, Xerox CEO Ursula Burns once told BE: “It’s all about everyone else. It’s little about you. You have to keep your eyes on what is important.”  True leadership is no laughing matter.

Read more on leadership and rallying your team:

• Being the boss: 3 imperatives for great leadership
• How to affect positive change in your business

President Barack Obama appointed Ursula Burns head of the White House national program on STEM in November 2009. (Photo source: Xerox Corp.)

In support of his idea that America’s success depends on strengthening its role as the world’s engine of discovery and innovation, Obama announced last Thursday, a major expansion of the Educate to Innovate Campaign that he launched in November 2009. The new addition, Change the Equation, is a CEO-led effort to dramatically improve education in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Ursula M. Burns, leader of the White House STEM program, Xerox CEO, and the first African American woman to run one of the largest publicly traded companies is leading the Change the Equation initiative. She co-founded the program with astronaut Sally Ride, former Intel Chairman Craig Barrett, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt, and Eastman Kodak CEO Antonio Perez. Change the Equation will utilize the resources of 100 CEO’s to achieve a sustained commitment to improving STEM education. It will also help companies increase their own  engagement in STEM education, as well as create a state-by-state “scorecard” to highlight areas for state-level improvement.

The program is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York, will receive $5 million of funding for its first year of operations, and plans to replicate successful privately-funded programs in 100 high-need schools and communities by:

•    allowing more students to engage in robotics competitions,
•    improving professional development for math and science teachers,
•    increasing the number of students that take and pass rigorous Advanced Placement (AP) math and science courses,
•    increasing the number of teachers who enter the profession with a STEM undergraduate degree
•    providing new opportunities to traditionally underrepresented students and underserved communities.

The President also announced specific public-private partnerships such as the National STEM Video Game Challenge, which will target students in high-poverty schools from under-served urban and rural communities.

The challenge involves two annual competitions – focused on both playing and designing games for STEM learning. Student designers from 5th to 8th grade can receive $50,000 in prize money, and the Developer Prize will be open to anyone and focus on STEM games for early learners, pre-K to 4th grade. Private entities like the Entertainment Software Association and Microsoft, will partner with non profits and foundations like the American Library Association, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America among others to execute the challenge.

In addition, the Sunnyvale, CA-based silicone and software company AMD will expand its “Changing the Game” initiative over the next three years, reaching 20 regions and 10,000 children with hands-on game development.

Finally, the President’s Council of Advisors in Science and Technology (PCAST) released a report outlining ambitious new policy proposals for improving STEM education. The report includes specific and practical recommendations that school administrators can take and recommends that the federal government  improves coordination and leadership on STEM education. It also calls for increasing support of state-led movements and school districts in their effort to create vibrant STEM learning environments, adopting a common baseline for what students learn in STEM, recruiting and rewarding STEM teachers, and creating experiences that excite and interest students of all backgrounds.

For more information on White House STEM Projects visit:

Youth Inspired Challenge

You Media – 21st Century Learning Labs in Libraries and Museums

National Lab Day

VIDEO: Watch the Power Player profile of Ursula Burns on the Black Enterprise Business Report

In celebration of our 40th anniversary, Black Enterprise is taking a look both forward and backward at the world of black business. Our list of 40 “Titans: The Most Powerful African Americans in Business–and How They Shaped Our World” recognizes and pays homage to the entrepreneurs and business men and women who paved the way for all of us. Follow our countdown of the most important black business leaders of the four decades since Black Enterprise Magazine was founded in August 1970.

These are the men and women who fought the odds, suffered setbacks, regrouped, and eventually emerged victorious. Whether they conducted business from their own offices or the executive suite, their professional excellence, deal-making prowess, and unwavering advocacy converted promise into channels of prosperity and levers of power. These are the pioneers who withstood the elements—institutional racism, resistance from the business establishment, and lack of resources—to plant a flag on their own patch of territory.

These are The Titans: bold leaders who shattered conventional modes of commerce. Because of their contributions over the past 40 years, the world of business has been transformed forever.

Be sure to pick up the commemorative 40th anniversary August 2010 issue of Black Enterprise, which contains the entire Titans list.

Milestone for gender equality: Ann Mulcahy passed the Xerox CEO baton to Ursula Burns

In 1968, Virginia Slims cigarette ads celebrated a tradition defying generation of American women with “You’ve come a long way, baby.” Over 40 years later, we are still debating if we have bridged the gender gap.

Recently, Bloomberg News Anchor Lori Rothman asked me about gender quotas and if I thought they would be successful in the United States. Her question was primed by Deutsche Telekom, which markets its phone under the T-Mobile banner in the United States, and its decision to introduce gender quotas in the management ranks. Noting that 60 percent of business graduates in Germany are currently women, the company has mandated 30 percent upper and middle management jobs be filled with women by 2015. “It is a matter of social fairness and a categorical necessity for our success that we develop more women managers,” said Rene Oberman, CEO of Deutsche Telekom.

Thomas Sattelberger, Deutsche Telekom’s chief human personnel officer said, “A glass ceiling is however clearly still stopping too many talented females from making it to the top. Introducing the women’s quota will enable us to break through this ceiling.”

The decision by Deutsche Telekom to create a female quota caused quite a stir in Europe. Predictably, some felt it was yet another sign of social engineering, but for others it seemed like a logical response to the under-utilization of females in the workforce. Both are partially correct. Ultimate and permanent change is preceded by deliberate action and rational improvement.

Corporations must seek to maximize the capabilities of all employees.

Culturally, quotas will not be successful in the United States. Although an imaginative and audacious move by Deutsche Telekom’s CEO, American culture is one where we see ourselves as members of a meritocracy. We believe whole-heartedly that anyone can grow up to be president. President Barrack Obama’s election is proof positive to many that anyone can get to the top, if they are prepared and work hard. The other barrier to using quotas in America is the fact that courts have not looked favorably on them, except as a remedy for the most blatant forms of discrimination.

Rothman pointed out that women have made lots of strides in the US with the selection of Ursula Burns as CEO of Xerox; Indra Nooyi as CEO of PepsiCo and Irene Rosenfeld as CEO of Kraft. She suggested that perhaps “the real challenge in the U.S. was around comparable pay.” The battle for equal pay for equal work still goes on, but the bigger challenge is moving women into more senior leadership roles. While women have come a long way and seen incremental progress in corporate America, they still have a long way to way to go to achieve parity with men.

Women are CEOs of only 13 of the Fortune 500. In 2009, women held 14% of the board seats for the Fortune 500. Furthermore, African American female executives only held 3.3% of the seats on public boards! African American women appear to be at a double disadvantage (race and gender).

As a husband and father of a daughter, I am encouraged by the advancement of women to the corner office. It was exciting when Ursula Burns became the first African American female selected to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 firm. I also understand that her opportunity was partially driven by the opportunity afforded Ann Mulcahy as the prior CEO.

Burn’s selection was on every broadcast station, cable television business show, newspaper, magazine, blog and Black Enterprise’s cover! The reason is simple, even in the 21st century: The selection of a woman as a business leader is still a singular event that captures our imagination.

Women are making incremental progress in corporate America and we can expect more with the steady influx of women entering college and graduate school. So let’s celebrate the ascendancy of Ursula Burns but remember—we still have a long way to go, baby!

Gregg Smith is managing director at Boyden Global Executive Search in New York

Caroline Clarke, Black Enterprise executive editor and host of 'The Black Enterprise Business Report.' (Source: Lonnie C. Major)

Transcript of Caroline Clarke’s welcome speech at the Women of Power Legacy Awards Dinner.

Thanks to all of you for joining us for the fifth annual Woman of Power Legacy Awards Dinner.

Welcome!

Whatever you came through to get here – whether you made the beautiful drive from LA or flew a snowplow through the skies en route from the East coast, we are so glad you are here!

Not everyone was this lucky, so we have had to make some tweaks to the program that will be noted as they occur.

This is going to be a fantastic week! And I don’t know about you, but it’s come right on time for me!

This gathering takes place at a historic moment marked by steep challenges and unprecedented opportunities. We’ve all come through what, for many of us, has been the most challenging year of our professional lives and, perhaps, our personal lives too.

The twelve months since we last gathered together have been extraordinary, for both their soaring highs and life-changing lows. And none of us has been left unscathed. But we are all still standing, aren’t we ladies? But we are here and pressing on!

Whether in the ascension of Ursula Burns to the CEO’s seat at Xerox or in the grateful face of a young Haitian woman recovered from beneath the rubble an astonishing two weeks after that country’s devastating earthquake, we show the world time and time again that black women are survivors.

We are thrivers. We are odds-defiers. We are constantly setting our sights higher and higher and higher and, as our president said in last month’s State of the Union address, “we will not stop!”

We all understand that we are living in a remarkable time, one in which sweeping changes far beyond our control have dramatically altered the corporate landscape. But here’s the good news: The paths to power remain open to those with the will and talent to pursue them.

And those same sweeping changes have forced us to grow, to adapt, to refocus, and recommit to managing our lives and careers with an emphasis on that which we can always control: our goals…our efforts…our expectations…and our resolve to reach our full potential no matter what.

That’s what this Summit is all about: providing you with the tools and inspiration you need to take the path of your choice to the future you deserve.

For four decades, the achievements of African American women entrepreneurs and professionals have been central to the mission of Black Enterprise, which has chronicled our progress in business on its pages since the early 1970s.

That tradition continues throughout all of Black Enterprise’s media and business ventures for the simple reason that we, African American women, have always been a source of strength, ingenuity, and renewal for our community and as such, we deserve to be both recognized and celebrated.

In other words, we’re in for an extraordinary evening, and Black Enterprise is proud to bring it to you with the generous support of our title sponsor, our good friends at State Farm Insurance. State Farm has proven itself an able and involved partner in the production of this year’s summit, so I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge their contribution and to introduce one of State Farm’s own women of power who helped make it all happen.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Louise Perrin, Heartland Zone, Senior Vice President for State Farm.