In a totally depressing article, the Daily Mail reports that one third of women in the UK claim they have experienced sexual harassment at the workplace. Some lowlights:
14 percent are “dreading” going to their holiday party because they’ll have to dodge a drunk and/or handsy coworker
20 percent say they have had to fend off a coworker’s sexual advances
5 percent report that they have quit a job because the office harassment was so bad
32 percent say that they have experienced harassment in the form of lewd “humor” or inappropriate jokes
However, that’s not the only disheartening thing about this article. The recommended reading link in the middle of the article links to something entitled “Moody, indecisive, and trying to act like a man, why ladies make truly lousy bosses.” Seriously? I have two things to say to the author of that piece: one, it’s called a colon and you should try using one, and two, shut up.
The British Trade Union Conference has suggested that stiletto heels should be banned at workplaces in the United Kingdom. While I’m not more on Team Ballet Flat than Team Stiletto, I’m not usually interested in creating office dress codes. This one, though, is kind of interesting - the proposal isn’t about telling women how to dress and imposing gender norms on them, it’s about, oddly, making them comfortable.
From their proposal:
The motion, tabled by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, states: “Congress believes high heels may look glamorous on the Hollywood catwalks but are completely inappropriate for the day-today working environment.
“Feet bear the brunt of daily life, and for many workers prolonged standing, badly fitted footwear, and in particular high heels can be a hazard. Around two million days a year are lost through sickness as a result of lower limb disorders.
“Many employers in the retail sector force women workers to wear high heels as part of their dress code.
“More must be done to raise awareness of this problem so that women workers and their feet are protected.”
While I don’t think banning high heels outright is necessarily the way to go, I do like that they don’t put all the blame on women - I have several female friends who work in offices where high heels are mandatory, and this is a ridiculous, outdated idea put in place by male bosses who want women to conform to a certain visual standard. I think the Congress makes the excellent point that this silly request from some companies is actually really harmful to womens’ health in the meantime.
The US News & World Report is obviously trying to get on my bad side today. First they start off by announcing that the recession - or, “he-cession,” is affecting male “breadwinners” more than any other group. The depression and unhappiness that men face after being laid off isn’t just the result of losing their jobs, though - it’s the fault of their wives. Thankfully, the article has some “helpful” tips for those women who are totally harshing their husbands’ buzzes:
Support him. Forget about the fact that your job might have become more stressful or that you might be worried about losing it as well - just make sure your man is happy!
Offer “physical support.” In case you can’t read between the lines, this means “have sex.”
Encourage him. Even though you want to be a responsible adult and talk about what your options are regarding unemployment checks or trimming the family budget, if you ask about it you will be “prying.” So just devote more time to reassuring your husband that he’s wonderful and special.
When last season of American Idol added fourth judge Kara DioGuardi, many speculated that Kara’s addition was a potential test to see if she could replace Paula Abdul in case Paula decided to leave the show (because a woman can only replace another woman, obviously). Now, Paula’s embroiled in difficult contract negotiations that leave her status on the show uncertain. Her manager has complained to the press that Paula is being lowballed - she makes far less than fellow judge Simon Cowell and host Ryan Seacrest, and she’s holding out for more money.
As an avid Idol fan, I could go two ways with this. One is that Ryan and Simon both provide more value to the show than she does - Simon’s also a producer and helped create the show, and while it seems like hosting a reality show is easy, compare Ryan with a lesser TV host and you’ll see how talented he is at moving the show along and smoothing transitions. Ryan’s the only host, but Paula is one of three - or four - judges. Besides, her commentary is often rambling or irrelevant - do we really care that you like someone’s personality or outfit when they can’t freaking sing? Part of me thinks she should be grateful to Idol for resurrecting her career and making her a pop culture icon. After all, would she have had her reality show, jewelry line, endorsement deals, or other side gigs if she hadn’t made her Idol-fueled comeback? I doubt it.
On the other hand, there’s the Randy Jackson factor.
Cracked.com has a hilarious article about some of the worst workplace safety videos ever. They feature everything from vintage mullets (the non-ironic kind) to superthick Canadian accents to people being impaled. Here’s my favorite, which is about how to handle those dames in the office who just walk around in their skirts asking to be sexually harrassed.
You can see the others - plus entertaining commentary and carefully analyzed screenshots - here.
As I’ve said before, women have it way harder than men when it comes to appropriate office dressing, especially in the summer. In addition to figuring out hemline length and strap thickness, there’s one more element to summertime business casual: cleavage.
If you’re on the flatter side, like me, it’s a lot easier to get away with wearing lower cut tops at work, since it’s incredibly unlikely you’ll have anything to expose. But if you’ve been blessed with a fuller figure, you have to be extra careful about what you wear. It’s sad but true - even though you didn’t ask for your boobs or ask everyone to base their opinions of you on said boobs, they will. People will talk to your breasts instead of your face and, at work, when you’re doing everything you can to be taken seriously, a button coming loose at an inopportune moment could be the kiss of death. Depending what industry you’re in, cleavage can go either way - I’ve known women who work at restaurants and get better tips if they show more skin, as well as women in fashion who hide their breasts when the gamine look is back in style.
Based on my own entirely unscientific survey, cleavage was fine if you had a male boss and totally verboten if you had a female one. Do any of you have such stories to report about your own boobs or someone else’s in the office?
I feel like women have it much tougher when it comes to proper business attire. It’s pretty hard for men to go wrong with a suit (although my former boss and his “fun” ties with dumb prints on them sure did his hardest to disprove that statement), but women have to navigate everything from skirt length to heel height. If you’d asked me what I thought about wearing makeup at work, I would have guessed that women wearing obvious makeup at work was a faux pas, but a recent British study seems to prove me wrong:
64 per cent of directors said that women who wore make-up look more professional and 18 per cent of directors said that women who do not wear make-up “look like they can’t be bothered to make an effort.”
This Times of London article, which wants to present itself as helpful but is actually totally condescending, advises women on their makeup options. The author suggests going to a department store and getting a makeover from the consultants (and probably buying a lot of expensive products as well, right?), plucking eyebrows, using self-tanner and/or a bronzer, and even goes so far as to suggest that men should try sporting makeup as well.
Maybe some people think wearing makeup is the answer. I think “stop judging people by their looks as long as they’re presentable and dressed professionally” is a more efficient plan, but perhaps I’m in the minority on that one. After all - I work from home. It’s a miracle when I put on clothes instead of pajamas.
What about you? Do you feel pressure to wear makeup or to put on a certain kind of makeup for work?
Liz Funk is the author of Supergirls Speak Out: Inside the Secret Crisis of Overachieving Girls. Her book deals with the pressures many women and girls face to be ‘perfect’ at everything, often to their own personal detriment. She very kindly agreed to answer some questions from me about how this concept applies to the workplace.
STA: Do you think that, despite many laws and other concentrated efforts for gender equality, women are treated differently in the workplace? LF: Absolutely. At each and every level, there are different standards and expectations for women. The most frequently echoed frustration that I heard from young women working on the job search and starting in their career track is not knowing what to do with their femininity, and trying to strike a balance between being cute and pretty and being competent. There is also a tendency to view women supervisors as mother figures, and we hold women in the office to a certain standard of niceness, and there’s a real trickle-down effect that compels many women at work to sugar-coat things.
STA: What particular goals, pressures, and ideas do women bring into the office? LF: I personally feel that femininity is a great tool. As a whole, women are very intuitive and they’re natural negotiators. Powerful women aren’t always bulls the way powerful men frequently are, and I think women are better at meeting people where they’re at and finding common ground. Also, something that I’ve overwhelmingly noticed is that girls are much better at impressing others in workplace and having career common-sense, and I think they’re much less overentitled than guys (which is something that is scarcely brought-up in this “Gen Y overentitlement” media brouhaha).
STA: Where do you think this notion of “women must be perfect” come from?
April 28th is Equal Pay Day. I’m not sure exactly whether the day is supposed to be about “celebrating” the fact that men and women are allegedly being paid equally or about bemoaning the fact that men still make more than women for doing the same jobs. I’m going with the latter, obviously. Marie Claire has some sobering stats that we should keep in mind today:
For every dollar a man makes, a woman makes 78 cents. That number has climbed 1 cent since 2006.
Fresh-out-of-college women make $15,498 less per year than the boys; over a 35-year career, they’ll make $210,000 less.
A 25-year-old female PR specialist makes the same as her male colleagues; 20 years later, she’ll make about $35,000 less.
She-EOs make $303,000 less than their male counterparts.
Male primary-care physicians make 22 percent more than lady docs.
Male IT workers make 11.9 percent more than geekettes.
According to the American Association of University Women, at the current rate, we’ll reach pay equity in 2040.
Woo, what a fun holiday! Time for some Jager bombs in the break room!
The British Trade Union Conference has suggested that stiletto heels 
When last season of American Idol added fourth judge 
As I’ve said before, women have it way harder than men when it comes to appropriate office dressing, 
I feel like women have it much tougher when it comes to proper business attire. It’s pretty hard for men to go wrong with a suit (although my former boss and his “fun” ties with dumb prints on them sure did his hardest to disprove that statement), but women have to navigate everything from skirt length to heel height. If you’d asked me what I thought about wearing makeup at work, I would have guessed that women wearing obvious makeup at work was a faux pas, but