Matt
Many corporate workplaces tend to emphasize a certain amount of conformity to standards of appearance and behavior. To many of the higher-ups, such conformity is a sign of professionalism. Corporate America generally expects people to choose an appearance on the job in keeping with their tasks, and grooming and hairstyle are as important to this as the choice of clothing. There are plenty of other examples of hairstyles for other ethnic groups that would be considered unprofessional, too. If a white man showed up for a business negotiation wearing a hockey-player haircut and scragly beard like Joe Dirt, that would create the wrong impression as surely as arriving in an oil-stained set of mechanic’s overalls. It’s worth noting that some companies carry conformity in the office even further. For example, I once visited a Honda manufacturing plant where all the employees, from the top management to the workers on the assembly line, were wearing identical white uniforms.