Women told to wear high heels and more makeup because it’s ‘better for business’
According to a survey by Slater and Gordon, 86 per cent of female workers feel pressured to dress "sexier" in order to protect their careers
WOMEN are being told by their bosses to put on more makeup, wear high heels and short skirts to work, new research has found.
According to a survey by law firm Slater and Gordon, one in five women say they felt more attention was paid to their appearance by their bosses compared to their male colleagues.
Nearly one in 10 women said their bosses preferred them to wear high heels around the office or with clients because it made them “more appealing”, while eight per cent were told to put on more make up so they "looked prettier".
The study, which asked 2,000 employees about how they felt their appearance was judged at work, found nearly half of men said they felt their dress code was more clearly defined than that of women.
Many women claim to have been told to dress “sexier”, with 86 per cent saying they feared their career might suffer if they didn’t comply.
Almost a third of them reported they had been advised that changing their appearance would be "better for business".
Meanwhile, more than half of men said they had never received comments about their appearance with only three per cent told to dress smarted by bosses.
Current UK employment law states a dress code can be used but this is usually imposed for health and safety reasons, or to promote a particular image, for example, of smartness and efficiency.
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Employment lawyer Josephine Van Lierop at Slater and Gordon said: "Under current UK employment law employers cannot treat one person less favourably because of their gender but there is no legislation to prevent employers from treating men and women differently in relation to dress code.
"Employers will argue that men and women must be dressed smartly or well groomed for a person of their gender.
"However, in 2016 there is absolutely no expectation that women in business should wear make-up or high heels in order to be smartly dressed. Imposing this expectation on women only is arguably unlawful sex discrimination."
The law company conducted the research after seeing "a rise" in the numbers of clients complaining about comments their bosses were making about their looks.
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