Inapropriate comment?

[geoffrey]

A young lady aged 20 was short-listed for a job based on her job application and before being interviewed. The job specified that 'Though there is no actual staff uniform, Male staff are expected to wear sombre coloured trousers and tie with a white shirt and female staff are expected to wear a sombre coloured skirt of reasonable length and a white blouse'.

The applicant did not like being told to wear a skirt and not trousers but nevertheless she applied. She arrived at the appointment time where there were five others waiting to be interviewed. She was third to be interviewed and on entering the interview room she was confronted by the (male) boss who said 'Alison!...... Oh not another bloody woman who looks like a teenage boy, no thank you and goodbye'.

It is true that this young lady is often mistaken for a young male. She told me her story but has not asked for help or advice as she got a very different and much better job the following week, but out of curiosity, would that comment be deemed to be gender discrimination or not? Personally I think it to be unpleasant but probably not illegal. I understand that it is legal for an employer to require staff to wear a uniform or semi-uniform and that it can stipulate that women must wear specified 'traditional female dress' provided that it also stipulates that men wear specified 'traditional male dress'.

P.S. This is a genuine situation.

[wales01man]

Re: Inapropriate comment?

Why did they apply for a job with these dress rules? As for the comment as it would be her word against the Employers as to what was said difficult to see what she could now do.
good to see she has got another job she can put this down to experience and laugh at it later in life.

[teaboy2]

Re: Inapropriate comment?

If they had no actual dress code, uniform policy. Then yes the comment was sexually discriminating. But as pointed out, it would be difficult to prove!

Also advising people what to wear for an interview, based on their sex, is something i have not heard of before. Though telling females to wear dress is itself discrimination. As women are entitled to wear trousers too! Even a uniform policy stating otherwise would be discriminating! You simply can not have any policy that treats persons different to others based on their sex, and that includes uniform policies requiring women to where skirts whilst not permitting them to wear trousers, same for men not being allowed to wear skirts - Think transgender or sex change!

[geoffrey]

Re: Inapropriate comment?

I met this young lady some two years ago. She was very pleasant but I must admit that I thought she was a boy. However, her concern about being able to wear trousers and much more about her has now been revealed. On her 21st birthday she 'came out' to her family, her church, and her friends and declared that she was transgendered (a female who considered that she should be a male). She has now changed her first name or actually added a male-sounding name and retained Alision as a rarely used middle name and is to openly live as a man..

We have contacts with organisations who offer support to people with sexual orientation concerns and she was offered support. However, she says she has no problems and will be able to cope well with her future life as a young male person. Her new employer has no problem whatever with her situation and to some extent understands her problem as he is an openly gay man. She, or should I now say she, is a lovely person and we wish her, whoops, him well in her, whoops, him new role and in her, whoops his new job in which she, whoops, he is very happy. She fully understands that those who knew her / him as a female will be confused about the he / she / him / her situation but at least she fully understands and can laugh about it.

[Amethyst]

Re: Inapropriate comment?

So when did she attend the job interview ? Ahh when she was 20, and she ''came out'' age 21, so the interview issue happened some fair time ago then.

[teaboy2]

Re: Inapropriate comment?

So when did she attend the job interview ? Ahh when she was 20, and she ''came out'' age 21, so the interview issue happened some fair time ago then.

I wondered that too. Shame it wasn't recent, like within last 3 months. Otherwise it would have been a good case to take on for LB and for the young man. As he was clearly discriminated against because he is female physically and no doubt other females were discriminate by the same employer by requiring them to wear skirts and not permitting trousers, not to mention judging them they way he did if they did wear trousers!

[geoffrey]

Re: Inapropriate comment?

I do not know this young person well and have only met her once and then very briefly and with several others, so I do not know the precise details requested. We were not asked for help in this situation but thought the case to be interesting. However, I imagine that the young person applied for the job when she was aged 20 and 'came out' on her 21st Birthday.


I shall soon be retiring from my voluntary position due to age and ill health and the increasing workload. However, I shall draw my successor(s?) attention to your site and as I have agreed to remain as 'consultant' for a while you may still hear from me occasionally, but thank you all sincerely.

[rtbm]

Re: Inapropriate comment?

A young lady aged 20 was short-listed for a job based on her job application and before being interviewed. The job specified that 'Though there is no actual staff uniform, Male staff are expected to wear sombre coloured trousers and tie with a white shirt and female staff are expected to wear a sombre coloured skirt of reasonable length and a white blouse'.

The applicant did not like being told to wear a skirt and not trousers but nevertheless she applied. She arrived at the appointment time where there were five others waiting to be interviewed. She was third to be interviewed and on entering the interview room she was confronted by the (male) boss who said 'Alison!...... Oh not another bloody woman who looks like a teenage boy, no thank you and goodbye'.

It is true that this young lady is often mistaken for a young male. She told me her story but has not asked for help or advice as she got a very different and much better job the following week, but out of curiosity, would that comment be deemed to be gender discrimination or not? Personally I think it to be unpleasant but probably not illegal. I understand that it is legal for an employer to require staff to wear a uniform or semi-uniform and that it can stipulate that women must wear specified 'traditional female dress' provided that it also stipulates that men wear specified 'traditional male dress'.

P.S. This is a genuine situation.

Surely this falls under the quota of bullying and harassment?