Do you think a casual dress code at work works against women?

if women are distracted by this trivia, how do they focus on big issues?
Just asking.

I think women are judged more by how they dress at work. I have male colleagues who seriously could not care less about how they dress for work, but I’m quite sure if women were to show up dressed in a Hawaiian shirt or similar, it would affect their success in the workplace.

I work in an environment where there are no written rules about how we dress and people are quite individual, but I do think there are different expectations for women. Apart from dressing too casually, it can go the other way too. A colleague of mine wore a particular dress one day. It wasn’t revealing or inappropriate, but it looked very smart. While I was with her more than one man commented on the dress. Women didn’t. Men did. It made her feel uncomfortable and question whether the dress was inappropriate for work.

Barely anyone here (Australia) wears pantyhose and definitely not in summer. It’s too hot. I wear them in winter because a. I think they look nice, they keep me warm and I don’t have to shave my legs! I’m in a small minority who would wear pantyhose.

@josie makes a valid point. The fashion and makeup hoops through which women are expected to jump are probably every bit as big a drag on their prospects as the ingrained bigotry in the men for whom they are supposedly displaying all that nonsense.

This is at work. Why does any of this stuff matter, when there is a job to do?

Why not wear a casual jacket? Or casual heels? I can think of lots of people I’ve worked with who obviously liked dressing up a bit every day.

Here is what I find baffling: Who is it that might consider what a woman wears that still falls under the ‘business casual’ dress code worthy of judgement? Male co-workers? Female co-workers? An individual?

The only time I have ever questioned acceptable attire on Friday’s ‘business casual day’ is when a co-worker wore rubber flip-flops to work. I looked it up in the HR standards manual, and there were no specific guidelines, so I built a bridge and got over it. It wasn’t hurting anyone, except possibly herself based upon others’ judgements that couldn’t let it go.

I agree with @Earthbound_Misfit. Women are judged by their appearance far more than men are (I’m pretty sure there are a lot of studies that back this up). By “judged” I’m talking about their perceived intelligence and competence at their job. So this is a legitimate concern. Ideally, yes it wouldn’t matter, but we can’t escape human psychology.

I think women work against women, because you guys tear each other down over trivial stuff like this.

Nah, it’s really very simple, if you have awful saggy tits keep em covered, lovely bouncy ones, put them puppies on show XD

I agree with @Blackberry that women work against women.

That was exactly what I was thinking when I read @Earthbound_Misfit‘s story about the ‘smart’ dress. Sounds to me like the men gave compliment where compliment was due, and the women gave the silent treatment.

I dress nice at work and mostly out of work but, I do not go into fine details while at work.

Even I feel this is reaching. Nothing says one cannot wear a suit jacket and heels even though there is a casual dress code.

^^ I agree. I’m a guy, but, by way of example, my place had casual Friday for a long time. I always just wore my usual work clothes.

@ibstubro, no that was not the situation. While the men did not criticise her appearance, their response brought unwanted and unwarranted attention to her appearance. There was no reason for her female colleagues to tear her down because she looked perfectly fine. Her female colleagues said nothing because there was nothing to say. Why should anyone have mentioned her appearance positively or negatively? She’s a professional, capable woman who was wearing a dress. She looked attractive in the dress. She’s an attractive woman. However, her appearance shouldn’t have drawn any comments from any station. Do men draw attention to each other’s appearance in a professional setting? ‘Hey man, you’re looking particularly gorgeous today? What are you up to?’ Wouldn’t happen.

I was thinking more in terms of men not taking women seriously than women doing it. Not that some women wouldn’t do it also.

A jelly above mentioned a study, so I decided to google, because I know there are studies showing on average doctors don’t take patients as seriously who are dressed very casually and not very pulled together. Here is a link from a Forbes article about how you are judged at work by what you wear and how you are coiffed.

I think the industry makes a difference probably too. Some workplaces would be more judgmental than others. I’m not sure if judging or judgmental are the right words, but I’m not sure what word to use that would be better.

My small law firm is super casual. Jeans, tshirts, flip flops is the uniform of everyone, even the attorneys.

All the women here dress down. It doesn’t seem to effect anything. If someone comes to work dressed up we all make comments and ask why.

@tinyfaery Just curious, is everyone thin to average weight? Similar age? Or, more to the point of my Q, are the women all similar in size, age, hair, length of nails, etc.? What if someone did come in in a suit every day? Or, if a woman wore pantyhose and dress shoes? Would they fit in?

Also, can people be promoted? I dont know much about law firms, but it seems to me the level of education or required certifications detrmine a person’s role. A legal sec’y cant be promoted to a lawyer. I guess maybe a receptionist can move into a bigger administrative role? How does that work?

Yes, @Earthbound_Misfit I’m male and I’ll compliment another male if they’re wearing a particularly ‘smart’ article of clothing. Probably more-so than I would a woman for fear of getting the ‘sexist-pig’ look.

Reminds me of when I was in a pretty small clothing store and I ran into this black guy with a full beard that was fantastically sculpted. Just beautiful. About the 3rd time our paths crossed, I said “Man, that beard is _flippin amazing! Did you do it yourself, or have it done?” Both as it turns out – that’s what he did for a living. Gave me a card and offered to carve my own, meager white-on-white facial hair. Walking billboard depending on other guy’s comments for business.

Contrary to popular belief, guys love for other guys to compliment them on weight loss or major style change, too. In a professional setting it might just be a thumbs up or eyebrow-nod.

The youngest person in our office is mid-20’s, the oldest in his upper 50’s. Some people are fit, others (me) not so much. Most of the women don’t wear make-up, but some do. We’re all just very L.A. It’s not like the rest of the country here.

My job has changed a lot, but we are all hired for our skill set.

My immediate boss is a woman. Attractive by my standards for/despite her age. She looks good in jeans and a shirt, which is what she usually wears. She looks better or worse depending on how dressed up she gets, as does everyone, but it never affects my opinion or respect for her.

A suit jacket can cover up fat rolls really nicely after all.
If they have rolls of fat, know they have it, care to do nothing about it, hen that is what they wear no matter how casual Fridays are; no problem.

A little height in a heel brings women up to eye level for men.
Is that something women find important to feel equal to men?

I don’t see how it hurts women, it can help some women greatly

@Hypocrisy_Central I think being taller helps some women feel more confident. I’m 5’6” so I almost never feel short, but I know a lot of women who wish they were taller and seem to feel insecure about their height.

I have no idea how men think about it. My experience is men like shorter women. I hate feeling taller than all the other women in the room when I find myself in that circumstance. In business I rarely “feel” my height. It happens more in social settings.