London: You must wear shoes with heels 2-4 inches high at all times when you are at work. You must wear make-up and regularly re-apply it. You must wear tights, but not opaque ones.
Those were some of the rules in a dress code imposed by a British recruitment agency on its female workers before one of them, Nicola Thorp, refused to wear high heels one morning and was sent home without pay. After Thorp, 27, started a petition against compulsory high heels on Parliament’s website that garnered 152, 420 signatures, her rebellion became a national talking-point and led to an inquiry by lawmakers into workplace dress codes in Britain.
They reported on Wednesday that sexist dress codes were rife in some industries and women were routinely being forced to wear high heels in jobs where they were on their feet all day and shoes were causing health problems. “This may have started over a pair of high heels, but whatit has revealed about discrimination in the UK workplace isvital,” said Thorp. Under Britain’s equality law, company dress codes must make equivalent requirements for women and men, but the lawmakers said breaches were widespread in sectors.
Rebel with a cause
- Nicola Thorp, who was with PricewaterhouseCoopers, refused to wear high heels and was sent home without pay
- Thorp started a petition against compulsory high heels on Parliament’s website
- It led to an inquiry by lawmakers
