London receptionist Nicola Thorp was fired when she refused to wear heels at work, so she launched a petition to the UK government to outlaw mandatory high heels. “Current formal work dress codes are out-dated and sexist,” she wrote. At the time of writing, the petition has 127,000 signatures — enough to force the British parliament to debate it.
This case however, is the latest in quite a long history of women being forced or pressured to dress in such a way that damages their health, restricts their movement and prizes male perception over dignity and the value of their contribution to work.
Here are five things women are judged on when they apply for a job or while working that shouldn’t be even an issue.
Heels
Airline El Al was another example of many where women were forced to wear heels. All female flight attendants had to wear heels until passengers were seated, that is, until those workers also organized a petition against it.
Given that I can’t remember ever looking down at an attendant’s shoes while boarding, and given that plane safety and emergency regulations are meant to be paramount, the rule showed that the company thought its female employees were there to be decorative, rather than serve customers well.
High heels restrict muscle function, reduce blood flow and cause back pain, joint pain and ingrown toenails, as well as other long-term problems, such as bunions. They make women fragile and less mobile, as women in heels can’t walk at a normal pace or run..
Scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham estimate that there were 123,355 injuries related to high heels between 2002 to 2012 in the United States alone. Wearing them by choice? Fine. Job requirement? No way.
Make-up
It’s still very common for women to be turned down for a job if they don’t wear makeup, especially when applying to be waiters, bartenders, newscasters, receptionists, and anything in retail.
A woman in New York last year commented on the social website Reddit that she was working as a switchboard operator and was fired for not wearing makeup. Another woman who worked in marketing who often did wear makeup but went a few days without, was told she had to wear a minimum of concealer, eyeliner and mascara every day to work. A few years ago, a woman called Melanie Stark who worked as a sales assistant in a HMV music store in the British department store Harrods was fired for not wearing make-up.
The store in fact had a very detailed guide to how its female employees should dress, including “Full makeup at all time: base, blusher, full eyes (not too heavy), lipstick, lip liner and gloss are worn at all time and maintained discreetly (please take into account the store display lighting which has a ‘washing out’ effect),” Salon reported.
A study by a UK beauty retailer Escentual found that 68 percent of bosses wouldn’t like to recruit a woman not wearing makeup. Around 49 percent of them said that women should look “attractive and pleasant” when applying for public sector jobs, such as in the hospital and hotel industries. Basically, for men to have a “professional appearance,” they only have to be clean and tidy, whereas women have to spend big on “beauty” products. Makes you rethink the gender pay gap doesn’t it?
Skirts instead of pants
Short skirts are something women in many professions are pressured to wear, even though they too restrict movement, force women to be mindful of how they sit, and stop women from bending down or crouching.
Skirts are more likely to lead to success in the workplace, according to a University of Hertfordshire study. But a plunging neckline and a very short skirt apparently take it too far, according to that same study.
There seem to be a lot more studies about what women should wear than men. Remember when the media picked apart Argentina President Cristina Fernandez’s wardrobe choices when she was head of state in the South American country, asking her questions about her shoes and clothes that they’d never dream of asking male leaders.
Of course, anyone of any gender should be free to choose to wear a skirt, but the constant pressure on women to do so is part of putting their appearance before the work they actually do.
Fitted or revealing clothing
Many workplaces have dress codes that sexualize women while aiming to make men appear powerful or respectable. CBC Marketplace investigated dress codes at some of Canada’s top restaurant chains. Female staff said they felt pressured to wear revealing outfits or risk losing shifts.
“The dress is so tight that you can see your underwear through it,” an employee of Joey Restaurants told the investigation. She claimed she was told not to wear underwear at all in order to avoid this.
Similarly, a University of Alberta class project on sexism in the restaurant industry found that dress codes unnecessarily sexualized female staff. One woman wrote to the study, “I was often told that I needed to show more skin. I was 17 years old. No 17-year-old should be getting in trouble for not showing enough skin.”
Ironically, it’s often the same sort of people who blame a woman’s way of dressing for sexual assault and harassment of which she’s a victim.
Hair styles
Black women are pressured not to wear their natural hair, there’s major stigma around gray hair and an expectation that women style their hair (which is time-consuming and costly). Even men are often told not to have long hair.
Glamour magazine even went so far as to tell women at a New York law firm that afros — not a style but normal hair for an African American person — were a “no-no,” and that a “political” hairstyle such as dreadlocks are inappropriate for the workplace. Or the Missouri company that told a woman she had to cut her dreadlocks to keep her job: the woman said dreadlocks were part of her culture, but she was told they weren’t “professional.”
Then there is Rhonda Lee, the African American meteorologist fired by a TV station in Shreveport, La. after defending her choice to wear her natural hair on air. And the white female meteorologist recently handed a sweater while broadcasting to cover up her bare arms and shoulders?
These cases raise the question again, of what it means to look professional? Does indigenous president Evo Morales of Bolivia not look “professional” because he wears Bolivian clothing rather than a Western suit and tie? Perhaps “professional” is code for “clothing that appeals to Western white men.”
In many workplaces, women are still judged by how they appear before what they contribute. And how they should appear is defined by a white male gaze, rather than themselves and their own ideas of dignity. Sex and gender aren’t perfectly binary anyway. Isn’t it time to drop the male/female dress codes?
—Tamara Pearson
Sources:
http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/06/sexism-at-work
http://etbulletin.org/2014/05/dress-code-perpetuate-sexist-double-standards
https://www.buzzfeed.com/norawhelan/girls-who-fought-against-school-dress-codes-in-2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/05/12/temp-receptionist-in-london-refused-to-wear-2-to-4-inch-high-heels-and-was-dismissed-from-her-job-now-shes-petitioning-parliament
http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2015/06/17/3670766/fight-flight-female-attendants-battle-airlines-new-high-heel-policy
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/can-employer-require-female-employees-wear-makeup-63185.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/work/high-heels-arent-glamorous-they-are-physically-damaging-and-requ
http://vagendamagazine.com/2014/11/its-2014-and-my-boss-makes-me-wear-make-up-to-work
http://www.salon.com/2011/07/06/harrods_retail_dress_code_makeup
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-gender-specific-dress-codes-1.3474289
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/new-company-policy-forces-woman-to-cut-dreadlocks_n_4159369.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/05/black-women-natural-hair-at-the-workplace_n_2811056.html
http://www.people.com/article/meteorologist-cover-up-liberte-chan-ktla
Watch Fox News and in fact all of their shows. The women wear horribly short skirts – you notice nothing but legs – and it must be so uncomfortable for those lovely ladies to have to sit like they do – so you don’t see too much thigh, etc. Women are much more elegant when they wear skirt lengths just below the knee. Most knees are not really attractive. Why they dress like that I will never figure out. Sex appeal? The more demure the woman, the more appeal she exudes.
FYI, the female meterologist who was handed a sweater should have been more covered up—she wore a short, glittery spaghetti-strapped dress more appropriate for a nightclub than a professional job. Look attractive yes, but look like you’re going to WORK, not out dancing or hanging out at the beach.
Right on, Mimi! Look at Audrey Hepburn…she exuded charm, beauty, and grace…
It is definitely discriminatory and sexist. I have not had a problem and I am considered very attractive. Pants suits are ideal for women on the job (most jobs, especially offices). Thank you, Hillary!
Ah the late sixties & early seventies when women were just starting to wear pants to work. Places that allowed this had a rule that it must be a “pants suit”.
I was looking for a job close to home and days wanting to get off nights and the bus and train fiasco. Figured it would work now that my three children were in school all day. So, I went on two interviews wearing pants, not a pants suit but I looked very professional. The first place told me right from the start that pants were not allowed and since I was working for a bank that had a ‘no pants dress code’ for women said I was fine with that as I had a closet full of dresses. The second place I interviewed at I dressed the same. My thoughts were if it isn’t allowed I would be told so at the interview. This place hired me and after two months my supervisor (female) told me that I should not be dressing as I was and that I should wear dresses/skirts, which I had done on rare days. My answer to her was that I dressed this way for the interview purposely and nothing was said about a dress code or pants not being allowed.
Surprise! I went on to work for that company for 30 years, until I retired.
Just thought I would get this off my chest.
Oh wow women just love to complain about everything (yes I’m a woman). If its not one thing its another. Women have become so lazy that even suggesting to look nice is seen as sexist knowing dam well they have certain expectations of men but of course they don’t want to admit what they do. Is it sexist men still have to wear suits and dress shoes and look as if they have a lot of money or care about their appearance? No of course not. These are the same women that get jealous because men like to look at women who care about their appearances. If you’re at work its not sexist its professional. We have run out of things to complain about we make up new things. Women wonder why many are seen as emotional or irrational because you ARRRREEEEE!!!!! Stop complaining and expect everything be done to please you.
In Britain in the 40s and 50s women were not allowed to wear trousers to work nor girls trousers to school. They had to have bare legs with socks for the girls or totally bare legs for the women – no thought was given to how cold they were in the winter! We used to get sore chapped legs and it was awful. As for Harrods- I would tell them where to go – I never wear that much make up ever! Lipstick is just too tarty and powder and base and blusher is embarrassing – women don’t need to look like prostitutes or dolls thank you very much!
No. Women wore stockings in the forties and fifties. My mother never ever went out with bare legs!
Many could not afford stockings. They browned their legs with gravy mix and drew a fake line up the back of their legs. If they wore trousers they could be sacked.
Pretty amazing it’s what year, 1816? These policies show no concern for women as integral beings with rights and value as the article clearly points out so well. Make up is full of deadly ingredients that can disrupt hormone balance, cause cancer and more. If those pushing for these laws had to follow similar guidelines, maybe they would start to understand how offensive this treatment is. Like here in America, all the new patriarchal laws to “protect women from themselves”, as if we can’t make clear decisions without waiting periods for certain procedures. I love the idea proposed that men should have waiting periods and have to go through some of the intrusive and restrictive measures in order to get Viagra, etc….
Women shouldn’t be forced to do anything except make sandwiches.
Make sandwiches while in high heels. yeah. because they really want to. it fills the hollow all women have if they do not have children. toast the bread too!
men are stupider. I is one. For example i am getting turned on by your syntax and misuse of grammer. i want to buy you Loubotin shoes and watch you walk. i love women who are worthy of their gender, who rise above the petty complaining and realize that women are the music of the world. I have no sisters, but everyone has a mother, if you are alive. Mothers are god.. dog era srehtoM .evila era uoy if ,rehtom a sah enoyreve tub ,sretsis on evah I .dlrow eht fo cisum ehtnemow taht ezilaer dna gninialpmoc yttep eht evoba esir ohw ,redneg ieht fo yhtrow era ohw nemow evol i .klaw uoy hctaw dna seohs nitobuoL uoy yub ot tnaw I .remmarg fo esusim dna xatnys ruoy vb no denrut gnitteg ma i elpmaxe roF ..eno si I .rediputs era nem……..grammer is spelled grammar…..am i corect….are you?