Dye their hair blonde, always have a freshly applied face of make up, wear revealing outfits – these are just some of the outrageous and sexist things women in the workplace have been told to do by their employers, a new study has found.
These worrying experiences were unearthed by a parliamentary report into the case of Nicola Thorp – the London receptionist who made headlines last year when she was sacked from finance company PwC because she refused to swap her flats for high heels.
(The shoes in question are now in a museum in Hackney FYI).
@HackneyMuseum Neat bit of contemporary collecting. Shoes that got Nicola Thorp sacked in 2016 pic.twitter.com/NHHkFYqVkL
— Museum of Marco Polo (@MoMarcoPolo) January 4, 2017
Depressingly, the Petitions Committee and Women and Equalities Committee said that it became clear during the inquiry that this was certainly not an isolated incident.The report said: “We heard from hundreds of women who told us about the pain and long-term damage caused by wearing high heels for long periods in the workplace, as well as from women who had been required to dye their hair blonde, to wear revealing outfits and to constantly reapply make-up.”And various stories shared on social media seem to back up that these types of conversations and situations really are pretty common.
Among all of the sexist engagements I've experienced in the workplace, being told I was "too motherly" was perhaps the most jarring.
— Alexandra Matthiesen (@AMatthiesen) April 8, 2015
An Australian friend working in Germany was told by a male colleague "we have 2b sexist in the workplace,else there's nothing 2 talk about" https://t.co/D86zZKZEYn
— Kim Ajayee (@mavisgrizzltits) October 14, 2016
Worst said to me at a workplace: 'Ur doing great. You wear those heels all day long!' I'm a competent intelligent woman, don't minimize me!
— Sonya Tulk (@sonyatulk) January 7, 2015
@pronounced_ing This astonishes me. Just the workplace alone. I was told to wear more makeup at a job.
— Lee Gjertsen Malone (@Lee_G_Malone) January 18, 2017
The day my workplace told me to "wear a full face of make up" to work, I stopped wearing makeup full stop. #justcos @EverydaySexism
— apocalypticvirgin (@Cloudcandy) December 16, 2012
The new hire just told me I should wear heels to work BECAUSE IM A WOMAN.
— Mary ? (@MaryB25) November 24, 2016
The Fawcett Society told the inquiry that requiring women to abide by gendered dress codes, often of a sexualised nature, sent out the message that their appearance was of more value than their skills, experience or voices.
Chief executive Sam Smethers said: “Sexist dress codes which objectify women and make LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) employees feel excluded have no place in modern workplaces.
“Employers need to focus on what drives productivity and enables their staff to feel part of a team. It isn’t a pair of high heels.”