High Heels Petition to be looked at by MPs

Following the story in the news last month of Nicola Thorp who was sent home from a temporary job at the finance company PwC after being told that she had to wear shoes with a “2 inch to 4 inch heel” to work there, a petition was started on the Government’s website (which we at Affordable Leather Products signed) stating that “Current formal work dress codes are out-dated and sexist” because of such dress codes.

The petition against women being compelled to wear high heels has, to date, garnered over 142,000 signatures, well above the 100,000 level that requires Parliament to consider a debate on the subject.

Whilst we have no problems with someone (female or male) wearing heels (for their own pleasure or part of a consensual BDSM relationship), to make it a requirement for someone to do so as part of their employment contract is not something we approve of.

[bctt tweet=”Making the wearing of high heels a condition of employment is unnecessary and unacceptable”]

Firstly, as many women (and more than a few men) will tell you, wearing heels for an extended period of time starts to become extremely painful, they put the foot into an unnatural position, can cause problems with hips and backs due to the posture they enforce and may result in callouses and bunions due to the pressure the shape of the shoe puts on the foot.

[bctt tweet=”Wearing high heels for an extended period of time starts to become extremely painful”]

Secondly, as has already happened at some schools who may have transgender pupils, dress codes should be gender neutral, such that if one employee is allowed to wear trousers or flat shoes, all other employees should also have that option. And, yes, if a male employee wishes to wear a skirt, why shouldn’t they?

[bctt tweet=”Dress codes must be gender neutral, if one employee can wear flats, all should be allowed to”]

Finally there is an important safety aspect, if it becomes necessary to clear a building rapidly due to an emergency such as a fire, it is very difficult for someone to run or even move rapidly whilst wearing heels and if they are the type with buckles around the ankle, vital seconds could be lost whilst trying to undo them before exiting the danger area.

The fact of the matter seems to be that business dress codes like this are very likely mostly written by men because a) they don’t have to wear heels at work but b) they like looking at women in heels because of the effect they have on the woman’s figure.

[bctt tweet=”Business dress codes requiring women to wear high heels are very likely mostly written by men”]

This may have been acceptable in the past, but this sort of sexist attitude is no longer acceptable in this day and age and we at Affordable Leather Products think that dress codes should consider the practicalities of clothing in the workplace environment, not simply how the bosses like to view their staff.

Update – Government’s Petition Response – 25th June 2016

As the petition has amassed over 100,000 signatures, the Government have issued a response and will consider this for debate.

Here is the Government Equalities Office response:

* * * * *

Company dress codes must be reasonable and must make equivalent requirements for men and women. This is the law and employers must abide by it.

This Government is taking action to remove the barriers to equality for women at work, which is why we are tackling the gender pay gap, increasing the number of women on boards, increasing support for childcare costs and ensuring employers are aware of their obligations to pregnant women.

Employers are entitled to set dress codes for their workforce but the law is clear that these dress codes must be reasonable. That includes any differences between the nature of rules for male and female employees, otherwise the company may be breaking the law. Employers should not be discriminating against women in what they require them to wear.

The Government takes this issue very seriously and will continue to work hard to ensure women are not discriminated in the workplace by outdated attitudes and practices.

Government Equalities Office

* * * * *

So what does the Government’s response mean?

Whilst it’s pleasing that they have responded, frankly we think that it’s pretty insipid. All they are doing is re-stating the fact that “dress codes must be reasonable” and “Employers should not be discriminating against women in what they require them to wear”.

This is all well and good, but clearly this law is not working properly, otherwise Nicola Thorp would ont have been sent home. Whether this is because PWC were ignorant of the law (which is no defence) or they chose to ignore it, isn’t clear, but, none the less, for something like this to happen clearly indicates that businesses need to be made more aware of their responsibilities toward their employees.

Have you been affected by a discriminatory dress code?

Does the place you work have a discriminatory dress code? Are there any items of clothing that one group is allowed to wear, but are forbidden to another group?

Should businesses be allowed to tell any particular sub-set of their employees that they’re not allowed to wear X or Y or Z item of clothing because to do so would violet society’s socia rules?

Do you think that being able to wear clothing item A, but that group “over there” being forbidden it is conducive to a successulf and thriving workplace?

Tell us your thoughts and experiences in the comments which follow…