Dress Code Dilemma: Are Short Skirts Professional in the Workplace? How Should HR Respond?

Dear all,

Is it professional for girls to wear short skirts in companies? What should be the exact dress code if a girl is supposed to wear a skirt? If it's deemed inappropriate as per the dress code, what actions should HR take?

Regards,
Kamal

Dress Code in HR Policy

Most companies have a dress code in their HR policy. The joining or appointment letters to employees include clauses to adhere to this policy. For instance, items such as bathroom slippers, torn jeans, round-neck t-shirts, ethnic outfits, and skirts above the knees are clearly mentioned as reasons for security personnel to deny entry to individuals dressed in such a manner into the office premises, unless for officially sanctioned skits, fancy dress, or fashion themes.

An HR 'all employees' email can be sent, quoting the HR policy. This generally seems to work in dissuading some employees who are 'testing the waters'.

Dress Code Policy Implementation

Do you have a dress code policy implemented in your organization? Is it functional and shared on the intranet and employee handbook? Under any circumstance, before taking action on an employee based on a dress code, please ensure that there was enough effort made to make the employee aware of the policy.

In case there is no dress code policy implemented so far, please write and implement it as early as possible. This will help you maintain a professional environment within the company.

Key Considerations for Dress Code Policy

1. Include the basic formal outfit from Monday to Thursday and informal for Friday. Maintain a minimalist view and avoid including any hard guidelines.

2. Do mention the do's and don'ts.

3. Try to keep a liberal view with professionalism in sight. If this is the first time you are trying to implement it, go slow. Make employees a partner in this process and involve them with suggestions and implementation.

4. Finally, do get the management team's buy-in with your idea.

Wish you all the best. You are doing this for the betterment of the company to maintain morale and professionalism.

Regards,

Kindly refer to Accenture's Dress Code policy. It is one of the best in the industry. If your code of conduct does not have anything mentioned about dress code, it is considered professional as it will enhance employee involvement levels. :)

I appreciate the fact that other HR professionals have recommended that you come forward with a well-structured dress code in your company. Keeping this in mind, you need to also mention the area of activity you are in. If it involves glamour and sex appeal (for example, a casino/resorts like in Vegas), then it is the industry norm that the attire and grooming are glamorous/sexy but not vulgar.

Also, bear in mind that your company culture will influence the dress code of your employees a lot. Asking them to wear suits and ties from Monday to Thursday and then having them come in jeans and polo shirts on Fridays, only to stay late at work, may not prove useful at all. It will be, at most, a "cosmetic" gimmick that you would have brought to your organization.

Wearing short skirts in the corporate world is not at all relevant because of the culture in organizations. We girls face a lot of cases of sexual harassment, and then we blame other factors. Therefore, it should not be applicable in the corporate world.

I think there has to be some dress code for the company itself, and it has to be implemented with some strong conditions. The reason for this is that each and every employee is reflecting the brand of the company, so I think it must not be jeans and tops.

In my opinion, a dress code makes us feel more disciplined. Furthermore, differences can be minimized.

Regards,
Vivek Mishra
AM-HR & Admin

Cultural Values and Professional Attire in India

India is known for its culture, traditions, and values. If girls/women are getting an opportunity to work, they should concentrate more on their work with a healthy and presentable dressing sense. This could include trousers with a good branded shirt, suits, and sarees. Whether they are working in an MNC, they should not forget that the MNC itself is in India. Hence, girls should be modern in their thinking and implementation of great ideas rather than involving themselves in unnecessary issues of dressing sense, etc. Be proud, make your family proud, make your work proud, make your office proud, resulting in the pride of India.

Regards,
Mrs. Arti Singh
Sr. Executive- HR
PP Group of Companies

Pity on the comments of Mr. Ravi Shankar! Ravi, will you, as a father, allow your daughter or sister to wear short or mini skirts and roam around in the office or on roads? I think never. As an HR professional, what I suggest is that there should be a strict dress code policy in the office to maintain dress discipline. If girls choose to wear such attire against the policy, they should be terminated immediately and advised to wear it outside office premises.

In my office, as per the dress code policy, no female candidate is allowed to wear jeans or capris from Monday to Friday. On Saturday, they are permitted to wear decent casual attire with a sporty appearance.

If Ravi Shankar is currently in a western country and is displeased with the dress code policy based on our tradition, then no comments from me.

Regards,
Mrs. Arti Singh
Sr. Executive- HR

Hi,

Please find attached a sample dress code that can help address your question regarding girls wearing miniskirts or short skirts in the office. It is important to develop guidelines or procedures on dressing at your office.

With kind regards,
Elisante Yona

Thanks for your active participation. Well, I don't have any wrong opinion about girls wearing short skirts. My query was whether it's professional or not. It's really a big mistake if we terminate an employee based on her dressing. The best approach is counseling or following up with the company's dress code. Sending a letter to her parents is the height of stupidity. Please never think of complaining about a girl to her parents.

Thank you.

Regards,
Kamal Amrohi

Cultural Differences in Dress Codes

The discussions in this thread clearly illustrate the futility of posing questions without providing enough details about the scenario. This is an international forum, and what holds good for Western countries may not be true for Eastern countries. What's acceptable in a liberal society may be unacceptable in a society following strict codes.

For example, in a manufacturing company that I worked for, a female technician would come to work in mini-skirts (like the tennis players wear), and one could see the underwear when she bent to pick up anything from the floor. Such types of dresses were very popular in those days.

Have a lovely day.

Regards,
Simhan
A retired academic in the UK.

Thank you for your response. Even a school-going child knows that it's professional for girls to work in hotels, as air hostesses, in clubs, bars, recreational clubs, and as fashion dressers. However, it still depends on the company's policy.

Can you please explain to me why it's a "YES" for these industries and not for the others?

Regards,
Kamal Amrohi

In such industries, you have to market and sell their products. Who would like to travel in a hotel or airplane where air hostesses are fully dressed from head to toe?

Dress Code in Aviation Industry

AIR INDIA does provide its female cabin crew members to be well dressed in a saree. Are you traveling on AIR INDIA? Today, when the Honorable Mrs. PRATIBHA PATIL, the First Citizen of India, is wearing a saree, why is nobody targeting her dress code? What about the dress codes for female IAS officers? Do they possess little or no importance compared to that of a bar girl, air hostess, clubs, bars, recreational clubs, fashion dressers, etc.? They too are contributing to running this country in which you are surviving.

Role of HR in Dress Code Policies

As an HR professional, we should strive to create a healthy environment in our company. Despite such discussions and matters, we should aim to motivate all staff to increase productivity through hard work.

Regards