The need to wear ties is outdated
Lastweekparliament officially opened for the upcoming three-year term andmpshit the ground running. Alreadympsare gearingupto debate if a climate emergency should be declared innewzealand andma¯ori Party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie NgarewaPacker walked out after not being able to speak in the Address in Reply debate as that would constitute their maiden speeches.
With adecent amount of drama in a short period of time, you’d be forgiven for missing the big news; the call to abolish the rule which makes neckties compulsory in Parliament.
Green Party co-leader James Shaw’scommentthe rule should be removed wasmadeduring Parliament’s opening day on Thursday and met with laughter.
Later, National’s Simon Bridges tweeted: “Itmaynot be the biggest issue the world faces butmenwho cometo Parliament should wear ties. It’s not a bar, or a club, or a business, it’s anational Parliament.”
Arguing about whether tomake wearing a tie in Parliament compulsory would be a giant waste ofmembers of Parliament’s time, but Jamesshaw has got a point.
As a female, there has never been an expectation onmeto wear a tie or any other item of clothing whengoing to work.
The only real expectation is to look presentable, and I can do that without being told which items of clothing to wear.
Onthe other hand, inmany workplaces worldwide, there is an expectationmenwill wear ties.
It’s an expectationmyown father defiedwheniwas growing up. Oneday he decided 30-plus years of tie-wearing wasenough, and he just stopped.
Surprise, surprise, it didn’t affect his ability to do his job.
The tie requirement is outdated and unnecessary. Imagine if the tables were turned. Imagine if the rules statedwomenmust wear high heels in Parliament or jewellery every day.
There would be outrage, and I’m sure that would be overturned quickly.
So let’s even the tables. Weara tie or don’t. Weara skirt or don’t. Either way, get the job done and look smart doing it.
It’s time to ditch the uniform and focus on what really matters.