DU: Is it Professional for Women to Wear Pants to Work?

[philosophie_en_rose]

I work with professional women who wear whatever professional attire they damned well please. That includes pantsuits or dresses or skirts. I recently attended a seminar in which several WOMEN denounced other women for wearing pantsuits in classrooms, courtrooms, etc. Needless to say, I was appalled and said so, but I was smugly informed that many places prohibit women from wearing pants. And that pants (even as part of suits) are too casual and unfeminine and unprofessional.

:wtf:

So, should ladies be able to choose to cover their legs?

[mike_c]

1. I'm a university prof-- my female colleagues dress in everything...

...from jeans to skirts and dresses, pretty much according to their personal preferences. It amazes me that anyone would do otherwise.

[philosophie_en_rose]

8. Does the field matter?

For instance, are there more suits in the business department and such? I just really can't imagine why leg coverings matter, but I'm not a business-oriented or image-minded person in the least.

[mike_c]

30. not that I can tell, but I don't spend much time over there....

eom

[kay1864]

2. Depends on the profession!

Had to say it.






Oh all right...


:spank:











:P

[Dragonbreathp9d]

3. well, its not unprofessional

I guess it depends on the workplace and what type of pants they are as with men

[Writer]

4. I have NEVER heard anything of the sort, and I worked in NYC for a couple of years.

It's not only typical, but when it's 20 degrees outside, it's almost EXPECTED that women would wear pants to work.

I have never heard anything like this. Was Phyllis Shafley present?

[philosophie_en_rose]

13. Some of them did have rather large hairstyles.

I don't want to be unkind, but I would look stupid in what they were wearing. I only wear pantsuits. However, I couldn't believe how unkind these comments were.

And it seems to be blatant sex discrimination. Men can cover their legs and women can't. Fuck that.

[kay1864]

5. Waitaminit...

"many places prohibit women from wearing pants"

In this century?

:eyes:

[supernova]

6. The fundies/ultra conservatives have just outed themselves to you

Congratulations, now you know who in your work clique follows the conservative trail.

Women "dressing like women" is a BIG thing in the the fundie/conservtive camp.

Just FYI.

[idgiehkt]

44. nevermind that Jesus wore a dress.

:rofl: :hi:

[JANdad]

7. My personal preference is:

No Pants....


















and no skirts....


















and no slacks...


















In the words of Bill Maher....I KID!

[philosophie_en_rose]

10. It's so damned hot today, I'd almost endorse that dress code . . .

:rofl:

[Brigid]

9. Of Course it is.

I don't usually take that much notice of clothes, but I like Hillary Clinton's pantsuits. They look plenty "professional" to me.

[Bucky]

11. I'm in favor of a burkhas-only policy

or "mini-burkhas" in the summertime

[Brigid]

16. Then move to Afghanistan.

I hear they're making a comback because the Taliban is back.

[philosophie_en_rose]

19. In the UK, lawyers wear robes - like judges.

I'm not in favor of a burkas only policy, but I like the idea of wearing what I want under the robe. :)

Not a fan of the wigs, though.

[Throwing Stones]

28. That's it, I'm movng to the UK

That'd be great wearing anything (or nothing) under my robe. woo hoo

[xmas74]

12. I read somewhere that

in an actual courtroom women should wear skirts only because they do better with the jury. Otherwise, as long as it's professional-looking and well-cut and tailored for the woman in question I believe that a nice pair of slacks can be a good thing and can hide some figure faults that a skirt could not. Some of us (myself included) have tats on our ankles or legs. In order to hide I have to wear a really long skirt (not good because I'm short), wear pants or cover the tat with bandages and make-up. Other women have less than lovely legs and pants are a better fit on them.

If the pants have a good cut and fit well they would look much more professional than an ill-fitting skirt.

[philosophie_en_rose]

15. Juries are pervy leg watchers, eh.

I agree that it's more important to win a case than to upset a jury with something as meaningless as clothes. However, some jurors also don't like women or don't like minorities or are biased in other ways. Shouldn't they be screened out in voir dire?

As to slacks, I agree. I'm constantly cold and wearing skirts is very uncomfortable.

[xmas74]

18. But in that case,

most would just give up on the outfit and wear what they know the jury prefers. Day-to-day office those same women would wear nice pantsuits.

Now I want to go shopping for a nice pantsuit.

[reyd reid reed]

14. What are they defining as 'many'?

I'm guessing two or three. And I'm betting that they're all churches. I don't think I've ever been in a business establishment where every single woman is wearing a dress or a skirt.

What kind of seminar WAS that? They're nucking futs!!!

[philosophie_en_rose]

17. I think they're referring to some upper eschelon of the world in which pants are apparently dowdy

To be fair, these women are locally important in various professions (one is prominent lawyer, another a professor). I'm not at that level yet, so I wondered whether it was really that important. I can't imagine an official policy, but maybe a professional pressure in the office to conform. Or bribes from the leg wax lobby. :scared:

It was just a brief seminar from a local nonprofit on their issue. It was very short.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

26. I know some women who work at the "white shoe" law firms here in NYC

And several of them have said that they're not allowed to wear pants/slacks to work. (Also, they have to wear stockings or hose -- no bare legs.)

None of them really like it, but they're all making over 6 figures a year, so...

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

20. Pants, in my opinion, are FAR more professional than skirts/dresses.

This is a real bugaboo for me. Far too often I see women dressed in skirts or dresses that are entirely inappropriate for professional work. This is business - not the club.

[philosophie_en_rose]

21. I agree. I also think it's about keeping women submissive and helpless.

Can't have feisty women wearing pants! That's too threatening. Better put her in pants, so she has to be delicate.

Skirts can be great, but they are not for everyone.

[noamnety]

22. This is one of those situations where I just can't win.

I'm a pants person, so they wouldn't approve. But I'm guessing if I showed up in a skirt, they'd be all up in arms about my hairy legs. :)

That's not a political statement or anything - I actually did try shaving, but for some reason it just grew right back. Oh well.

Now if they want to get into why women need to shave their legs to be "professional" I'd want to know what sort of "profession" they think I'm in.

[ThomCat]

27. LOL!

"I'd want to know what sort of "profession" they think I'm in."

:rofl:
I can't help it. I think I can picture your delivery of that line. I'd pay money to see that. :)

:hi:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

32. ...

:thumbsup:

[GirlinContempt]

23. Both can be equally professional or unprofessional.

Jeans are banned in my workplace, however one employee consistently wears hip rider pants with a thong hanging out. Unprofessional.
Short-shorts and miniskirts are also unprofessional.
But clearly, pants in general are just fine.

[Reverend_Smitty]

24. I haven't worn a skirt since my Catholic school days...

and I wore a dress at my high school graduation because we were forced to...other than that, every occasion that I had to dress "professionally", I wore pants and nobody told me I looked unfeminine or unprofessional. Fortunately I work in a field where professional dress is impractical and sportswear is more appropriate...I like it better that way!

[Jokerman]

25. I voted "Fuck Yes" but...

does that mean I can't still be a "pervy leg watcher"?

[Jimbo S]

29. One place where I once worked

the women in the office had to wear skirts and heels. No pants. They are a first-tier automotive supllier so customers were in every so often, hence the need for a "professional" look. I think they had that rule because the VP was a conservative prick who expected to have his coffee served to him.

[Connonym]

36. That's just outrageous

Was this recently? We're about the same age and I remember when I first started working there was a lot of overt stuff like that. It's changed a lot but not completely gone away, obviously.

[TZ]

31. I suspect

the places that women are barred from wearing pants are places where the women are "trophy" employees, better seen than heard. There seems to be a lot of that in some of the professions that still have strong "good'ol boy" networks.
I myself have NEVER heard of this and I have worked in areas where professional attire was required.

[judaspriestess]

33. I only wear ensembles with pants

I don't wear dresses to work. My pet peeve is sleeveless blouses, I think that is mighty unprofessional looking IMO. It doesn't have to be long sleeve either.

[NewWaveChick1981]

34. Jeebus, yes!

:grr: It makes me sick when women attack other women about their workplace attire (and other things, but that's another subject). Do they not realize how hard our predecessors had to work for women's acceptance in occupations outside the home? Geez Louise.... They must be fundies or Freepers. :shrug: That's the only thing I can think of when trying to understand how that's possible.

I am not a pantsuit wearer, but I wear pants and skirts and occasionally a suit. I am a director of an administrative division at a liberal arts college, and I set the dress code. (Hell, if I could, I'd have a "jeans-only" dress code, but that's not a wise idea. :P) At times when students are not in class, it's understood that those are Jeans Days, and every Friday is casual.

[Katina]

35. while some places may discourage pants on women

I don't see how they can prohibit them. In my last company (which was a Fortune 500 company) my VP (woman) wore beautiful pantsuits all the time. It's not unprofessional at all.

[SocratesInSpirit]

37. As a woman, I HATE HATE HATE wearing skirts

And nothing annoys me more than self-righteous prigs who decry the fact that women wear pants. To them I say: "Get with the program! It ain't 1957 - I'll wear pants if I goddamn want to!"

:)

Edit: I've always worn pants to interviews, and if that has ever disqualified me from getting a job, then I wouldn't want to work for that company in the first place.

[Gormy Cuss]

38. However did you find that portal to the Wayback Machine?

I haven't heard of that backward policy since the 1970s.

[Schema Thing]

39. If they are professional Pitbull breeders

it's not only professional, it's a necessity!

[Lady President]

40. Crazy

Although my jobs have been low rungs of the ladder, I have worked in some very prestigious law offices-- top 5 bank, top 5 insurance agency, top 5 national law firm. In all of the those environments women wore pantsuits. In fairness, the upper level employees always wear suits, rather than anything sporty, but at least 75% of the time it's a pantsuit.

Personally, I think these were just a couple mean women trying to make you feel bad and they should be ignored! :)

[BlueIris]

41. Hey, is there an interdimensional portal in the Lounge?

Because it feels like this discussion got kicked here from a dimension that is on permanent hold in 1955.

[u4ic]

42. Work??!? Women shouldn't be working

they should be in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant. :eyes:

[Nikia]

43. I temped at a very prestigious company

In their research and development department. None of the female engineers or scientists wore skirts or dresses. The only women who did were secretaries. At most of the other companies with scientists who wore professional attrire, it was the same situation.
At the company where I work now, we are a small department and have to go out into the plant often so we wear the uniforms that the production people wear.

[hippywife]

45. I had to wear only skirts and dresses

at a job I used to have before I married and moved away. I was a national account rep working with huge national and multinational corporations as my clients. They finally gave in an let us have casual Fridays but the rest of the week it was skirts and dresses. But when I was on the road visiting clients and they had all casual all the time, I wore casual and didn't mention it to anyone back at the office, especially if I had to walk through their manufacturing facilities. I worked for the company from 1990-1997. It was a good job and paid well so I didn't complain too much. Since then, I haven't worn pantyhose but maybe twice in the last 10 years. I hate the damn things!

[liontamer]

46. I would never wear a skirt to teach or present at a conference

There's nothing "casual" about pants, men wear them all the time. Many places prohibited women from wearing pants 50 years ago, but now the only places women aren't allowed to wear pants are religious instutitions and on stage in a strip club.

[Lavender Brown]

47. I had a (female) boss in the recent past who had a rule that her employees

...(all women) had to wear skirts or dresses. I quit that job after a very short time. Total psycho. :argh: