Wednesday, June 9, 2010

...How far will it go?

http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_when-gender-war-spills-into-office-dress-code-space_1393264

http://www.examiner.com/x-13521-Workplace-Communication-Examiner~y2010m6d3-Citibank-employee-fired-for-being-too-attractive

These two websites contain articles describing a recent issue of discrimination towards a woman. She was fired from her job for supposedly dressing provocatively, however she claims that she often wore identical outfits as other women. It is the opposite case of the article "Refusal to fire unattractive saleswomen led to dismissal, suit contends" by Steven Greenhouse. I found it interesting, as in this case, the company wanted a sexy representative, and in response tried to fire a supposedly "unattractive woman".
In the Citi Bank example, the woman fired was a distraction to her bosses and male co workers. This is completely unreasonable, to dismiss one on the basis of physical attraction as the men in the office couldn't get their work done because they were too busy oogling. Instead, the men should have been talked to or dismissed as not being motivated enough. This is an example of our patriachal society and how the men have the underlying say and control. In a truely fair environment with no discrimination this would have not even been an issue.
This discrimination pushes the issue of how far will this continue... do you want women to be completely covered, face and all like in middle eastern countries?! That the woman cannot show herself?! We live in America, a supposedly free country. As long as dress code is followed, Citi Bank has no right to dismiss one upon their body type and the way it appears in clothing.

1 comment:

  1. These outside examples you have found provide create an interesting dialogue with the essay on Abercrombie's discriminatory practices. Good work.

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