Dress codes and school uniforms
I have a big thing about equality. To me, everyone should be given the same opportunities wherever possible regardless of race, gender, third arms or whatever.

It's always rankled with me that school uniforms allow ladies to wear trousers like the boys - but a boy (should he be so inclined) may not wear a skirt and tights. Admitted, he'd be beaten within an inch of of his life if he did, but attitudes may change if it was allowed! By the same note, why in some schools are girls allowed only to wear blouses and not shirts? This may be anatomically related though.

This follows through to work. In my current place of employment, men have to wear shirts, smart shoes and ties, unless that is unwise for operational reasons, such as myself where I stick my head in a printer most of the day.
Ladies, on the other hand, do not have a dress code. Some of them daily wear clothes that wouldn't look out of place in a nightclub, yet not an eye is batted. Should a gentleman in the office remove his tie due to the heat (heat is always turned up due to said ladies wearing practically nothing then complaining about being cold) he'll get an e-mail from HR pretty sharpish telling him to put it back on or face a disciplinary

Could someone please tell me why there is this discrepancy? If there’s an actual reason, for difference in dress code, I’d love to know.
(Potty Jag har smör i min rumpspringa, Thu 19 Feb 2009, 13:29, 16 replies)

This is a very good point.
I wear a suit and stick my head into printers and PCs most of the day. And the women here have to wear smart clothes, nothing that shows them off or anything!

Or am I not getting this right?
( gareth_alien will be human again at, Thu 19 Feb 2009, 14:06, closed)

You're in a place that requires everyone to wear smart clothing
not just the men.

And my excuse for not wearing a tie is that my printers take up roughly the size of a small house in length, each. Tie in one of them would be bad.
(Potty Jag har smör i min rumpspringa, Thu 19 Feb 2009, 14:48, closed)

No, you work in a place where everyone is smart.
Sounds familiar... women really do kick up a fuss with dress code. At the old job women went batshit crazy because they were told they had to wear tights when they wore skirts, and that they weren't allowed coloured shoes, and certainly not allowed high boots with short skirts. At the same time men were pulled aside for wearing shoes without laces and told they needed laceup shoes with their suits...

Overall, it worked out that it was far stricter than my school uniform ever was (I did come from a sink school however, so turning up and not setting fire to stuff was applauded). However, turning up in a shirt and trousers with a blazer type thing seemed to suit me fine: lazy and easy, especially with no-iron blouses and trousers.
(mmmm curry doesn't really understand this sig lark, Fri 20 Feb 2009, 0:39, closed)

I think it's just the fact that most men won't bother to kick up a fuss
about what they wear, but women would.

The office where I work is exactly the same, most of the older women tend to wear dark formal clothing, but the younger women wear their usual casual clothing (dark jeans, trainers, hoodys).

I like to think that this is the reason why they aren't allowed to visit client's premises and are often lower in line for promotion. Glass ceiling my arse.
(Vikingheadache, Thu 19 Feb 2009, 14:08, closed)

This is the truth.
This is *exactly* why they don't get promted, nor are allowed to meet clients.
(Potty Jag har smör i min rumpspringa, Thu 19 Feb 2009, 14:16, closed)

The reason
is that HR is all women.
( uberdeity Wondered why Owen Lars knew of the term "hell" on, Thu 19 Feb 2009, 14:10, closed)

Take your tie off
and politely argue your case to HR. Ask what said HR person is wearing (if they're female). Get the gents in your office to sign a petition.
(jackhiggs no longer a v!rgin as of..., Thu 19 Feb 2009, 14:13, closed)

Be careful with that.
Subtly intoning, 'What are you wearing?' to an HR lady-type may give the wrong impression.
(ThomsonsPier consumes, Thu 19 Feb 2009, 14:20, closed)

Hate this also
Used to get so much flack for coming into work and refusing to wear a tie from the HR department.

In the end I asked why is it that a certain staff member can wear a mini skirt yet I am forced to wear a tie and full suit **even though I wasn't customer facing and she was**.

Long story short, they said due to the dress code men must always wear "appropriate" clothing yet there was nothing saying what a women should wear as it's mysognistic (sp) to demand a women wears a certain thing.

So I went into work for a week wearing trainers, jeans and a t-shirt. Yeah, that went down well.
(Helo, Thu 19 Feb 2009, 14:33, closed)

I've wondered about this before.
I concluded that it's because the people who formulate and enforce dress codes are lazy. It's easy to define business wear for a man - suit, shirt, tie, shoes - but business wear for women is a bit more difficult. Consequently they don't bother.

At least it's marginally better than the frighteningly nebulous "business casual" that our HR wonks insist on. When I asked what this was, exactly, they suggested that if in doubt I should err on the side of smartness.

I turned up on day one of the new regime in full morning dress, but was reprimanded because my top hat contravened the rules on things protruding over the top of the cubicles.
(richardm, Thu 19 Feb 2009, 15:08, closed)

Work at home ...
... clothes optional.
(karnuvap, Thu 19 Feb 2009, 16:49, closed)

hr need things
Dead simple, it appears that you have an HR department that has a purpose, even if it is to go round checking who is or isn't wearing a tie and emailing them.

No one not even god really knows what happens in an HR department
(bluehamster, Thu 19 Feb 2009, 17:33, closed)

I....
..flout the unofficial dress code frequently.

There is no dress code in my office, every day is dress down day.

Cue lots of geeks in jeans and t-shirts constantly.

I turn up on at least a weekly basis in a shirt and tie, despite being female.

I like ties.
(flyme, Thu 19 Feb 2009, 21:14, closed)

I like you
Want to be my wife?
(mmmm curry doesn't really understand this sig lark, Fri 20 Feb 2009, 1:15, closed)

Summer is worst of all...
When the girlies all get to wear flip-flops and shirts and the gents get to wear suit, shirt, tie and shoes.

Ball bags.
(aroe_m0rre, Fri 20 Feb 2009, 16:03, closed)

Stuff the tie!
Too right mate - loads of suits wandering round here intermingled with a surrealist nightmare fashion parade as the women wear what the hell they want. Some of them wear stuff we really don't want them to.....urrgghhh!
(Mister_E_Meat was caught sniffing bike saddles at, Mon 23 Feb 2009, 8:27, closed)