Nicola Thorpe, high heels, petition against sexism at work

What happens if/ when the fire alarm goes off ?
Is she allowed to take the heals off to Run exit building or just totter out

Yes,you mean like the ones who tell us not to eat too much fattening things.That will work.

Women should not have to wear high heels as part of a uniform in order to carry out duties such as a receptionist ( as in this case). Health and Safety should be a priority :- Therefore the employee should have footwear which is comfortable and smart / dressy and suitable for the job.

There are many foot conditions which may be caused, exacerbated, painful due to wearing shoes which put stress on the feet. Whether that be high heels, narrow shoes etc. Mortons Neuroma is a foot condition which is apparently more prevalent in women ( could high heels, narrow shoes be a factor?). Victoria Beckham has Bunions, she wears narrow shoes with high heels. Has this type of footwear caused damage, pain for Victoria?

Maybe Chiropodists and podiatrists should be giving information, advice and support at an early stage :- Maybe working alongside Midwives, Health Visitors, Expectant Parent, Parents, school children, shoe shops, shoe manufacturers, employers etc. In an attempt to prevent/ reduce foot conditions. This could Improve Health, as well as reduce costs to the National Health Service through prevention of foot conditions / problems.

Sorry to disagree with some posts but she is an actress and craved the publicity. It could have been sorted without resorting to the press.
Cue photo of her in DT today holding very high heels which I don't think were the issue.

Don't tempt fate!

Aren't we due a post about Shoe Zone/plimsolls/black trainers soon? That would round this discussion off nicely

Of course no organisation should be able to demand female employees where high heeled shoes. It doesn't matter to me if the young woman involved also works as an actor where any publicity is positive, she has drawn attention to a sexist policy that also has the potential to damage the health of women.

I have mixed feelings about dress codes that can be over prescriptive but I do believe that when we're at work, we shouldn't be dressing in a 'look at me' manner. That is especially true for public servants like teachers, social workers, therapists in various health settings. It's about the service users, not about the worker who I believe should be clean, tidy and wearing clothes that don't shout 'look at me, aren't I a one".

Interestingly, before I went to Thailand, the college that was employing me, sent info, including that closed shoes should always be worn by teachers. When I got there, I found that all Thai schoolteachers (well, almost everybody, in fact) wore flip-flops. I got my aunt to send me some Clarks 'playdek' type leather sandals and wore those. It's silly to insist on closed shoes in 30-40° temperatures where there is no danger to one's feet.

Both good points, mumsy & marmark, though why is this kind of attention seeking, if that's what it is, seen as silly, whereas it's perfectly allright for people to use other, "approved" kinds of self-promotion for their work? Artists, food advertisers, etc, are classic "attention seekers" by the reckoning of judging publicity stunts to be automatically silly.

I tend to agree, mumsyface. Some people have odd clothing and footwear choices but most people make sensible choices based on what they need to be doing and what they find comfortable. Also what's in fashion. You don't see many people in long dresses working in fields.

When I was working as a librarian in university libraries I always wore trousers because I cycled five miles to work in all weathers (except deep snow, which was rare). Someone once said that my style was "smart casual". When I was teaching in schools, both here and in Thailand, my choice of clothes was adapted for the environment and climate but not, essentially, different. Nor is it now when most of my work is physical and outside, often in muddy conditions.

I think that some people naturally look smarter than others because if I wear a structured jacket I look and feel overdressed, whereas some people just look casual in the same sort of garment. I think it's partly to do with one's general appearance: some people simply have a neater appearance, whatever they're wearing, than others. That's not a judgmental comment, just an observation.

Sometimes,in fact very often,there is a dress code with a place of work.Like a tuxedo on a brickie? Jeans and tshirts on a nurse? The women's a silly attention seeker.When you approach a stranger,the only thing you have to go on is appearance.Commen sense,here for goodness sake.

I would like to question the whole notion of dress codes and uniform.

Being able to spot a police officer in a crowd might be useful at times. Wearing a hard hat and steel toe capped boots if you work on a building site - again, clearly purposeful. Aside from that which is clearly for health and safety, or visibility, purposes why do we feel a need to tell, or be told, what to wear to work? Where does the notion of "smartness" come from? I suggest that Functionality and comfort facilitate efficient working more effectively than fashion and other peoples preconceptions about propriety.

And as for Sandy Shaw walking about in barefeet... shock! horror! etc.

And we know that the queen's two inch heels make her look smart (and nothing else) because Diana wore flats and never looked smart ? Logic.

I would think the Queen wears 2" heels. To look smart.

I think it is unfair to conclude that the young woman has done this to obtain publicity, but even if she has I think that is irrelevant.

In my view it is totally out of order for an employer to specify that a woman must wear heeled shoes. Personally, if I could still wear high heels comfortably I would do so because I have short legs and I looked taller and felt more attractive wearing them. However, it should be an individual decision - not something imposed on a person. In the same way, I choose to wear make up because it makes me feel better, but I don't think women should feel pressured by others to do so.

If a man wears a suit and tie it does not affect his posture or affect his health in any way.

Somebody said that there is no evidence that women are required to wear heels to make them appear more attractive. What other reason would there be? Do women who wear heels perform their duties more efficiently?

From the photograph I saw, the flat shoes that she wore looked smart.

If a man called this woman "a silly little wannabe" I would feel annoyed, and I find such a comment even more annoying coming from a woman.

It is estimated that 3 million accidents a year are caused by high heels. My friend, who has run her own business for many years as a fully trained chiropodist, tells me that high heels distort the posture and can cause back and foot problems. They also prevent women from walking naturally or running properly - in much the same way that Chinese footbinding prevented women from taking long steps and from running. I know it's an extreme example but the underlying principle is the same.

Don't be ridiculous nemosmum.
Wearing 2 inch heels doesn't make anyone look like a sleaze-ball's idea of a sexpot.

I'm sure that is she was so anti high heels (2" ??) she could have found a job that did not require them.
Many women like high heels, why would they wear them out of work otherwise ? Perhaps they think they look better taller or that it looks sexy etc, whatever the reason they wear them by choice.
A close friend of mine had a thrombosis and was advised to walk a lot, no way would she go out walking in anything but her heels, I doubt she owns any flat shoes apart from slippers. She is a carer, so under no pressure to wear them.

Completely agree with Bags! As for those who say that the young lady consented to the dress code by accepting the job, that does not take into consideration the necessity of keeping the wolf from the door. You have to have work, but do you have to look like some sleaze ball's idea of a sex-pot? The dress code is sexist nonsense and we know it is! It's the same with any job (air stewardess etc.) which panders to men's idea of what women should look like. In my 20s I was a WPc. The Chief Constable liked his 'girls' to look decorative (don't think he can have seen some of my colleagues!) We were required to wear pencil skirts with a little kick-pleat and black nylons - yes, stockings. We were not allowed to put anything in the pockets of our tunics because they would 'distort' our figures. Consequently, we had to carry a handbag with statement paper etc. - nothing personal, no tampons. It was ridiculous! In any pursuit, the first thing to go would be the bloody handbag. We'd just chuck it anywhere and then the skirt would be hitched up around the thighs for leaping over walls etc. At least we did have lace-up oxfords on our feet. Don't think Chiefy realised what we had to do. That was the early 70s, 45 years ago. Surely things ought to have changed by now!

There are also other problems. I have always worn soes with quite a low heel because firstly I do not have a good sense of balance and secondly I go over on one ankle at least once a month and in high heels could seriously damage my ankle when that occurs.

Would her employer have compensated her if wearing high heels led to her having an accident and injuring herself?

I like shoes and I've always loved my heels. I used to change into them every day when I arrived at work, in a school office, and kept around 15 pairs to choose from in a box under my desk, much to the caretaker's amusement. Always found them easy to walk in and they just finished off my work outfits. Now that I'm retired and often on Nana duty I tend to live in flats, apart from when I'm dressing up for a night out

We had one head teacher who announced on arrival that she wanted a whole school staff dress code that included smart flat shoes (no heels allowed). There was no justification for this - she just didn't like them. She had to abandon the idea in the face of opposition by a few hard-core heel-wearers, me included.

I worked for many years for HMRC - no dress code!!!!! even had one male employee who worked on the Enquiry counter dealing with the public who would wear t-shirts depicting heavy metal bands!! Inspector grade often only wore suit/smart dresses (women only) when they had an interview with a taxpayer and/or their Accountant. This was accepted professional behaviour but never demanded. I was Clerical grade & often wore jeans. I briefly worked in a Collection office where we had to wear smart trousers & the men had to ask permission to remove their jackets in hot weather but had to keep ties on. I only learned later on in my career that there was no requirement to wear a "uniform"

Women should be able to wear whatever shoes they want to. I am sure that if a man had to wear heals for hours on end, he would soon have something to say. Flat shoes will make no difference to a woman's work, so no to heals xx

I've been trying to find out why my feet hurt in ballet type flats. The pain is on the top of my foot a couple of inches from my toes. I have come to the conclusion I'm simply wearing shoes that are too small for me! Internet articles suggest they are too short and too narrow. Whoever would've thought that a sensible woman would cram her feet into shoes that are too small? ? It quickly gets better if I wear trainer type shoes that lace up so I reckoned my feet were spreading unsupported in the pretty flat ones and the lace ups stopped that by enclosing my foot but it turns out it's just vanity that's hurting me! It only happens on my left foot which is the slightly bigger one. If I'd thought about it, I should've worked it out but hooray for the world wide web! ?

I'm all for smart, professional dress codes but I think height of shoe heel should be a personal choice. Wearing flat shoes or high heels does not compromise your professionalism. Some people find flat shoes more comfortable. If they do they should be able to wear them without comment.

Minibags's school shoe 'code' for boys and girls is black leather shoes. This gets rid of trainers and other shoes that might be regarded as unsmart in one fell swoop. Easy and sufficient. You can still go into a good shoe shop and ask for school shoes for a child. It shouldn't be beyond the wit of man to invent a professional/smart shoe code for adults, with choices of heel height, round toes, pointy toes, laces and bars to suit all comers and genders (and yes, I'm deliberately saying "all" genders with the current popularity of gender changes and non-gender choices! ).