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File #: 2020-0769    Version: 1
Type: Ordinance Status: Passed Finally
File created: 10/2/2020 In control: Committee on Human Resources
On agenda: 10/6/2020 Final action: 10/20/2020
Enactment date: 10/20/2020 Enactment #: 35
Effective date: 10/23/2020    
Title: Ordinance amending and supplementing the Pittsburgh City Code, Title Six Conduct, Article V Discrimination, Chapter 659 Unlawful Practices, Sections 659.02 Unlawful Employment Practices, 659.03 Unlawful Housing Practices, and 659.04 Unlawful Public Accommodations Practices to prohibit employment, housing, and public accommodation discrimination based on hairstyle and protective and cultural hair textures and hairstyles.
Indexes: PGH. CODE ORDINANCES TITLE 06 - CONDUCT
Attachments: 1. 2020-0769 Cover Ltr-CROWN Act Mayor Letter, 2. Summary 2020-0769
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Ordinance amending and supplementing the Pittsburgh City Code, Title Six Conduct, Article V Discrimination, Chapter 659 Unlawful Practices, Sections 659.02 Unlawful Employment Practices, 659.03 Unlawful Housing Practices, and 659.04 Unlawful Public Accommodations Practices to prohibit employment, housing, and public accommodation discrimination based on hairstyle and protective and cultural hair textures and hairstyles.

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Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act

WHEREAS, the Mayor understands and acknowledges the importance of racial equity and equal protection under the law in the City of Pittsburgh; and,

WHEREAS, Black people in the City of Pittsburgh deserve to wear their natural hair without being denied access to opportunity or experiencing discrimination; and,

WHEREAS, hairstyles also hold deep religious significance, and hair discrimination impacts religious minorities in housing, employment, and public accommodation; and,

WHEREAS, data collected for the CROWN Research Study by the JOY Collective, a digital marketing and production firm, reflects that in the workplace, Black women's hair is heavily policed through grooming policies; and,

WHEREAS, 80% of Black female subjects in the CROWN Research Study agreed that they felt the need to alter their natural hair to "fit in" in professional settings; and,

WHEREAS, according to the CROWN Research Study, Black women are 1.5 times more likely to be sent home from the workplace because of their hair, their hair is 3.4 times more likely to be considered "unprofessional," and 83% more likely to report being judged more harshly on their looks than white women; and,

WHEREAS, the "Pittsburgh's Inequality Across Gender and Race Report," which was conducted by the University of Pittsburgh and the City's Gender Equity Commission, highlights the deep inequities and barriers facing people of color and especially women of color in the workplace and in other aspects of professional...

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