There’s the Budget, Brexit, Trump ... so what are our MPs debating? High heels!
THE Budget is nearly upon us, the government is facing a Lords rebellion over Brexit, Donald Trump is rowing with his intelligence chiefs and North Korea is firing ballistic missiles ... but Parliament yesterday cleared a three-hour slot for a debate on high heels.
MPs were debating ‘dodgy’ workplace rules after more than 150,000 signed a petition calling for a ban on firms telling women to wear high heels.
In the end, a low turnout in Westminster Hall ensured it lasted just over one hour.
The petition was started by receptionist Nicola Thorp, who was sent home from her job when she turned up in flat shoes and refused to change into high heels.
Women employees had told MPs during an earlier evidence session of how they had been forced to Putting her foot down: Nicola Thorp wear a particular shade of lipstick, of how a black woman had been told to wear ‘flesh coloured tights’ and how some had been told to unbutton their blouses to sell more products to male buyers.
Caroline Dinenage, the women and equalities minister, insisted the law was adequate to protect women from discrimination but said it had to be better enforced. ‘I fail to see how high heel is a by-word for smart,’ she said. Ministers had written to airlines, retailers and the hospitality industry, to warn them to look again at any dress codes.
Miss Dinenage said: ‘I challenge all employers with dress codes to review them and to consider whether they remain relevant.’ She said more test cases could be brought by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to ensure the law was being properly upheld.
The minister told MPs: ‘This is not just about shoes. It’s bigger than that – it’s about how people are treated in the work place.’
She added: ‘In 2017 such outdated and sexist employment practices should just not be part of the workplace. Whether women wear high heels or not, it should be absolutely up to them not to some outdated, dodgy 1970s workplace diktat.’