The office dress code is something that a lot of the millennials are fighting to change. Currently, nearly half of the workforce population in the U.S. are made up of millennials. Thankfully, things are slowly changing in the office setting with regards to the dress code. Offices are slowly allowing their employees to show up in something business casual. The problem is, up to this day, the fight is a bit harder for women.
Admittedly, men have a bit more freedom when it comes to dressing for work. For women, it is always a struggle. We women are judged in everything we do. Wear bright-colored dresses and your colleagues will definitely have something to say about it. Wear a low-cut shirt and you’ll have to spend the rest of the day pulling it up. Your lip color, the kind of heels you wear, the jewelry, your makeup, E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. We dress to make ourselves look nice and to earn respect, and yet keep it safe enough that we avoid judgment and sexual harassment. And yet, no matter what women wear, we are never safe from all the things we try to avoid. We have enough proof of this when the #MeToo movement was at its peak. You could wear the most conservative suit ever and still end up being harassed by a coworker.
But how do we dress then? We dress in something feminine and we get accused of being too sexy. We dress in something more masculine and they say we look scary. So how should we dress then? It seems like heels are the acceptable standard for women worldwide. As a woman myself, I’m here to tell you there is NOTHING comfortable about wearing heels all day long. Wearing heels is being justified by saying it helps women make up for the lack of height when faced with men. Plus, wearing heels helps women command attention. How that is, I will never know. What I want to know, though, is why women need to do all of this? Can women not wear ballerina flats and still be capable of commanding attention in a room? Why are women more judged for what they wear and not for their skill and experience in the field that the work in?
When the pandemic blows over and everyone goes back to working in their offices, should offices still have strict office dress codes? After everyone was stuck at home for nearly a year just lounging in sweatpants while working, would anyone really be that willing to go back to wearing heels, tailored suits and dresses, and blazers, especially on warm summer days?