“Contributing to the new EHRC resources has been an important step towards ending hair discrimination, which many children with afro hair experience on a daily basis,” says Michelle De Leon, founder and CEO of World Afro Day.

“Our work supporting families, protecting children and educating school leaders shows that this extra guidance is needed. We hope that these resources will be an effective tool to clarify equality law for teachers and help shift the bias against afro hair that has become ingrained in some parts of the education system,” she adds.

Hair discrimination isn’t something that just impacts children, but grown adults too. Stylist has always been at the forefront, fighting for change at every level – and back in 2017 we launched the Hair Equality initiative. The campaign urged hair salons to treat and represent every woman, no matter hair type or texture – and at no extra cost.

While progress has been made, there is still a long way to go, but these new guidelines are another step in the right direction.

New guidelines announced today will prevent hair discrimination in UK schools