Crews 
A current trend in mainstream America by the name of “box braids,” a hair style that women of color have been wearing forever, is getting rave reviews from fashion insiders and celebs who believe they have invented a “new style” that in fact has always been here.
It is this same style that 20-year-old Cree Ballah, a Zara employee in Toronto, claims recently got her in a bit of trouble at work due to the style being “unprofessional” according to her management.
via CBC Toronto News:
An employee at a Zara store in Toronto’s east end said she will likely quit her job and file a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission after managers gave her a hard time about her hair.
Cree Ballah, 20, said she showed up for work at Zara’s Scarborough Town Centre location on March 23 with her hair in box braids gathered in the back.
One manager asked her to take the braids out of the bunch and returned later with a second manager, Ballah told CBC News.
“They took me outside of the store and they said, ‘We’re not trying to offend you, but we’re going for a clean professional look with Zara and the hairstyle you have now is not the look for Zara,'” Ballah said.
Then, she said, out in the busy mall where other Zara employees could see them, the managers proceeded to try to “fix” her hair.
“It was very humiliating… it was unprofessional,” she said.
It’s not the first time a large chain has been accused of discriminating against an employee because of her hair.
Last month, CBC News reported that Akua Agyemfra — a 20-year-old server at a Jack Astor’s Bar and Grill — was sent home because her hair was in a bun.
“My hair type is also linked to my race, so to me, I felt like it was direct discrimination against my ethnicity in the sense of what comes along with it,” said Ballah, who describes herself as bi-racial.
“My hair type is out of my control and I try to control it to the best of my ability, which wasn’t up to standard for Zara.”
Ballah did meet with company officials, but was not satisfied with how the issue was handled.
In a written statement, Zara said it “engaged directly the employee on this matter and respect the privacy of those discussions.”
The statement said the company is diverse and multicultural and does not tolerate any form of discrimination.
It also said Zara has no formal policy regarding employees’ hairstyles, just that they look professional.
