An advertising campaign hawking a brand of cigarettes from at least a decade past gave kudos to women saying, you’ve come a long way, baby. According to one fashion designer in New York City, nothing could be further from the truth. The issue behind the brouhaha is women wearing pants to work. After having clawed and bitten their way up the corporate ladder and risked cracking the glass ceiling, women are still being judged at work by how they dress, and not by their qualifications.
According to the fashion consultant, men simply do not take trouser-clad females seriously on the job. His vocal and frequent remarks on the subject have raised a few eyebrows everywhere. He claims males across the board exhibit marked professional indifference to female co-workers who wear pants.
Apart from saying women shouldn’t wear fragrance or pants to work, he listed at least 10 other no-nos women make while getting dressed for work. His advice to the matronly was to wear the hair in a beehive to avoid arousal of male counterparts on the job. While we fussed about showing too much skin or makeup on casual Fridays, the real danger was presenting ourselves in such a way that could turn a man on, thus diminishing ourselves as experts or figures of authority.
Most men and women conclude that this is not only extremely bad advice, it’s antiquated, and sexist to both genders. It pays off on the job to be creative and practical. Both women and man are likely to be more productive when they feel comfortable. By putting effort into your look, you value yourself, your workplace, your clients, colleagues and your work. And it shows you are serious about what you do.
No one, male or female, should be subjected to unreasonable demands by management on what to wear to work. If you are experiencing this type of behavior, It is advisable to seek advice from an expert in the field of employee rights. By putting effort and thought into how you look, you’re not just placing value on yourself, you’re demonstrating that you are serious about who you are and what you do. It is your right under the law.
Source:
watoday.com, “Women in trousers argument is absolutely pants” Athanae Lucev, Aug. 16, 2013
