This was a story that was huge a few months ago in the UK. Even
though this is technically 'old news', it still plays on my mind now.
This is why I had to get thoughts to laptop and write about it.
though this is technically 'old news', it still plays on my mind now.
This is why I had to get thoughts to laptop and write about it.
Social media is a powerful tool that can sometimes truly be an
eye-opener. Although most of us probably think that we are living
in modern and highly civilized times, very often some situations prove
as quite the opposite. It is hard to imagine that today one woman could
be sent home from work just because she was not dressed like some
director thinks should be right. Well, this just happened to a young lady
in London, the capital of The United Kingdom.
eye-opener. Although most of us probably think that we are living
in modern and highly civilized times, very often some situations prove
as quite the opposite. It is hard to imagine that today one woman could
be sent home from work just because she was not dressed like some
director thinks should be right. Well, this just happened to a young lady
in London, the capital of The United Kingdom.
Nicola Thorp, who is she?
Nicola Thorp is a 27-year-old girl from Hackney in London, and most
people would say she's lucky to live in such a city where you have all
the freedom you want. Well, it seems she's not as free as she may have
tought. Namely, she just got a job as a receptionist in the PwC’s outsourced
reception firm Portico but her first day at work didn't go so well. As
soon as she arrived at her new workplace she was sent home. And
the reason why? Her shoes! It seems it was a mistake going to work
in flat shoes since the company policy prescribed all women to
wear high heels. So, instead of earning money, she was sent home
without pay and told not to come back without the proper footwear,
even though the men working there were not ordered to wear any type
of shoe. Yes, this happened in London in the 21st century!
people would say she's lucky to live in such a city where you have all
the freedom you want. Well, it seems she's not as free as she may have
tought. Namely, she just got a job as a receptionist in the PwC’s outsourced
reception firm Portico but her first day at work didn't go so well. As
soon as she arrived at her new workplace she was sent home. And
the reason why? Her shoes! It seems it was a mistake going to work
in flat shoes since the company policy prescribed all women to
wear high heels. So, instead of earning money, she was sent home
without pay and told not to come back without the proper footwear,
even though the men working there were not ordered to wear any type
of shoe. Yes, this happened in London in the 21st century!
Nicola Thorp petition
Luckily, this young lady showed a lot of courage and self-awareness
and decided to share her story with the public via the social media.
She also started a petition to change laws that allow the companies to
tell their workers how to dress! In my opinion, the way you dress is
your call, since you pay for the clothes and shoes. The primary purpose
of the clothes and shoes is to make you feel comfortable, and standing
nine hours in high heels is not even close to being comfortable. On the
contrary, it's even harmful to your feet, so I think that the directors who
make such policies should personally test their "laws" before making
others to obey them. And it seems I'm not the only one who has this opinion
because Nicola's petition got 11,000 signatures in just a couple of hours,
and the numbers are still growing.
and decided to share her story with the public via the social media.
She also started a petition to change laws that allow the companies to
tell their workers how to dress! In my opinion, the way you dress is
your call, since you pay for the clothes and shoes. The primary purpose
of the clothes and shoes is to make you feel comfortable, and standing
nine hours in high heels is not even close to being comfortable. On the
contrary, it's even harmful to your feet, so I think that the directors who
make such policies should personally test their "laws" before making
others to obey them. And it seems I'm not the only one who has this opinion
because Nicola's petition got 11,000 signatures in just a couple of hours,
and the numbers are still growing.
Is it illegal to ask women to wear heels at work?
Well, it seems it still is, but hopefully, this will change soon, and
Nicola's petition might be the first spark. I don't think that anyone
who is signing this petition believes we don't need any dress codes.
Of course, you should not be dressed at work the same way you are at
home, or in the gym, etc. But there should be more common sense and
more democracy - we are a democratic country, right? Many
circumstances should be taken into consideration before making any
policies, for example, is wearing high heels every day for nine hours
going to affect your health? Also, is there any actual need for this kind
of shoe at work? Do the high heels make women smarter or better
workers? I don't think so, in fact, this particular policy is not only harmful
but also discriminatory and sexist.
Nicola's petition might be the first spark. I don't think that anyone
who is signing this petition believes we don't need any dress codes.
Of course, you should not be dressed at work the same way you are at
home, or in the gym, etc. But there should be more common sense and
more democracy - we are a democratic country, right? Many
circumstances should be taken into consideration before making any
policies, for example, is wearing high heels every day for nine hours
going to affect your health? Also, is there any actual need for this kind
of shoe at work? Do the high heels make women smarter or better
workers? I don't think so, in fact, this particular policy is not only harmful
but also discriminatory and sexist.
I believe that there are enough arguments for this practice to be changed
or even forbidden and that the whole society should raise their voices.
Because if we let them today tell us what to wear, maybe tomorrow they
will also tell us what to do, think, believe, etc. And if that happens, ladies
and gentleman, that will be the end of democracy and our civilization.
or even forbidden and that the whole society should raise their voices.
Because if we let them today tell us what to wear, maybe tomorrow they
will also tell us what to do, think, believe, etc. And if that happens, ladies
and gentleman, that will be the end of democracy and our civilization.
Yay thank you for including my blog! 😘 Ree love30
ReplyDeleteNo problem dear, loved the post :-) !
DeleteI can't believe this happened in London. This is so unfair! I am a huge fan of heels and I love to wear them but not everyone can, plus, come on, this is work, not a runway. I mean, horrible.
ReplyDeleteBS, xx | https://queenbsdiary.wordpress.com/
I was quite surprised too that this took place in London, always pictured a different picture in my mind hah.
DeleteSo sad to hear this! Instead of being more tolerant towards other people, we only see the benefit that comes to the particular company!
ReplyDeleteThat's true!
DeleteThis is insane! I love wearing high heels but I have days off to give me feet a rest. But even if I love them, if a company forced me to wear them, the pleasure would just wear out and I would hate it.
ReplyDeleteThat's also true!
DeleteThis is something that's happening all over the world. I definitely support this petition!
ReplyDeleteYeah, we used to have a same thing at the place I work. Thank goodness that "rule" doesn't exist anymore, otherwise I'd be pretty screwed.
DeleteThat's awful. I can kind of understand dress codes such as "wear a blue color so it matches our brand" when you're working in a restaurant that has blue colors all over it. But forcing someone to wear high heels (or short skirts, or lots of cleavage, etc) against their will just sucks. Not everyone can stand walking on high heels either, for some people it just hurts a lot, why would you FORCE someone to wear them?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, I would be screwed if this was still happening in the place I'm working at the moment because I'm not a fan of high heels :D
Deleteoh Yeah I have heard of this! Incredible discrimination, I mean what next?
ReplyDeleteThuymi @ www.AdventureFaktory.com
I'm a bit too afraid to think to be honest :D
DeleteThings like this really shock me!
ReplyDeleteI know right !
Deleteit seems ridiculous to me that in this day and age this is still happening, hopefully something will be done about it soon :)
ReplyDeleteSame here, hopefully :)
Delete