11 JUNE 2016

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It has been reported in the news today that temporary receptionist at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Nicola Thorp, was sent home for not wearing ‘2in to 4in heels’. Outsourcing firm Portico said Ms Thorp had ‘signed the appearance guidelines’ but PwC said the dress code was ‘not a PwC policy’.

When she refused to wear heels, Nicola was sent home without pay. You can read the full story hereand an in-depth analysis from the BBC here.

Commenting for Fawcett, Chief Executive Sam Smethers said:

‘It is completely unacceptable in 2016 for high heels to be an essential requirement for a woman to do her job.
‘What matters is what enables people to do a good job and what drives productivity. It is not 4 inch heels’

Fawcett ran the Don’t Blame it on the Girls campaign last year, highlighting the inequality in the way school uniform rules appropriated blame on to girls. Uniforms and how they are worn should not make girls subject to blame or disadvantage, just as flat shoes in the work place should not disadvantage the careers of women.