In 2016, 27-year-old Nicola Thorp started a petition to end the requirement to wear heels at work. Formerly an employee of the PwC company (PricewaterhouseCooper, audit, accounting and consulting giant), she was kicked out after refusing to go out and buy a pair of high-heeled shoes. In protest, she launched a movement calling for a law against the imposition of “outdated and sexist” dress codes at work. To date, she has managed to obtain 152,420 signatures! The young woman thus pushed the parliamentary committee in charge of petitions and the committee in charge of equality to investigate the dress codes imposed in the professional field.
This investigation revealed that employees were, among other things, forced to dye their hair blond, to put on make-up, or even to wear short or low-cut clothes. Appalling… To remedy these (absurd!) obligations, one of the two commissions declared:“Corporate dress codes must be reasonable. The requirements should be the same for men and women. It’s the law, and employers must obey it.” This question was debated on March 6, 2017 in the British Parliament. If the outcome of the discussion is not yet known, there is no doubt that Nicola Thorp's initiative will still have contributed to taking a step towards gender equality at work. On the eve of International Women's Day, this measure could not be better timed... We believe in it!
