The Issue: Are Women being asked to dress in unfair work attire?
So here's the stitch, British Columbia's Green party leader, Andrew Weaver brought the debate to light last week on International Women's Day. The bill he proposes would prevent employers from setting mandatory footwear requirements based on gender. It would not completely ban heels from all workplaces, but rather it would provide that the employers comply by setting the same dress code requirements for male and female staff. Currently, there are many restaurants, bars and lounges that have a specific dress code in place, and some of those still include a minimum heel height or specific footwear requirements."It's a no brainer. I can't think of a compelling argument anywhere to say restaurant owners should be allowed to require women to wear high heels in a restaurant," Weaver stated in an interview "It just doesn't make sense."
The positive news about Weaver's proposal is that it sounds like it will be put into action in British Columbia, very soon! Premier of the province, Christy Clark fully supports the proposal. On Monday, she told a news conference that her government is looking at the "quickest and simplest" way to implement the change. With this, as well as many other Parliament members and businesses support, this change will likely be implemented within the next few months.
"We're not old-fashioned"
Now for the real question, What has taken so long to address gender discriminatory dress code?! It should be common sense by now that wearing heels for an extended period of time is 1) Unsafe in a restaurant environments 2) Impractical in performing serving jobs effectively and 3) Completely painful, they're not comfortable at all!
In the United Kingdom there is even an online petition that has gathered over 150,000 signatures to address how "outdated and sexist" workplace dress codes are, and it will soon be debated in Parliament.
 |
| Typical waitress stereotype example in movie, Waitress |
The point of this being is that just because enforcing gendered uniforms has been acceptable conduct for so long, it does not mean that women should settle for this being right!
Is the male gaze a factor?
You bet it is! Footwear is only part of a bigger issue regarding discriminatory dress code in the workplace. The other issue being skirted around about gender discriminatory dress code is how meager the required uniform for female staff can be. A good example I have of this is from a friend of mine who worked in a clothing store. She recalls numerous times that ladies came to the store in search of short skirts that would not surpass the maximum length required for their serving job.
How does the length of a skirt determine a woman's ability to perform her job well? The fact is that it doesn't. The aesthetic looks of female servers are being regarded as important in attracting the attention of the male gaze.
In an interview asking Weaver about his thoughts of other discriminatory dress codes being banned, he agreed that requiring servers to wear short skirts was outrageous. However he also commented on the subtle differences of why it is harder to enforce:
"It's hard to argue the health and safety aspect with short skirts...With the high heels, you can definitely argue the health and safety aspect"
So, while mandatory short skirts still need some work to becoming optional, at least it's
Time to toss the heals!
References
- http://www.news1130.com/2017/03/13/premier-backs-bill-ban-high-heel-requirement-bc-eateries/
- http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/its-old-fashioned-b-c-premier-pledges-action-for-workers-forced-to-wear-high-heels-on-the-job
- http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/no-more-high-heels-b-c-looks-to-end-gender-based-footwear-requirements-1.3325380
I am so glad that we're breaking away from high heeled shoes as a female standard. I hate high heels, myself, but completely support anyone's right to wear or not wear high heels. Hopefully, this sentiment will slowly move towards people's perception of "professionalism" as well.
ReplyDelete