This issue created a lot of discussion a couple of years ago. A receptionist legally challenged her employers, who wanted to sack her for refusing to wear high stiletto heels in a job where she would be standing for most of the day. Over the years, this practice is known to cause painful foot health problems, especially later in life.
Now, following the justifiable concern over Sarah Everard's death and the safety of women generally, I feel that women,
- especially those who appear on TV and who hold down jobs where appearance is not the most important attribute - (models, singers and Strictly contestants are perhaps in a different category) should be setting a much better, more empowering - and most of all safer - example to us all of what to wear at work.
Stilettos may be fun when dressing up. I have bought them myself in the past. However, worn for most jobs, they seem to me like the 21st century equivalent of the ancient and now discredited practice of Chinese foot binding. They are designed to change the way a woman walks to make her seem more attractive to men, while making it much harder for her to escape difficult situations. Now the figures state that one in four of us has suffered harassment or assault, is it not time to question those external pressures which encourage us to present ourselves in this way? And refuse to pander to employers who say, this is the only way for our female staff to look elegant?
What do the rest of you think?
