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Women in the UK told to wear revealing clothes and more make-up to work

A recent study also shows that girls as young as six can be led to believe men are smarter and more talented than women.

DRESS CODES WHICH discriminate against women are still widespread in UK workplaces.

This was after a parliamentary committee’s report found female employees had been told to dye their hair blonde, wear revealing clothes, and use more make-up.

It follows a UK petition calling for “outdated and sexist” dress codes to be changed so women have the option to wear flat formal shoes at work.

More than 152,000 people supported the campaign after Nicola Thorp lost her job as a receptionist because she refused to wear high heels.

According to Sky News, Thorp said: “This may have started over a pair of high heels but what it has revealed about discrimination in the UK workplace is vital, as demonstrated by the hundreds of women who came forward.”

This not only has an impact on working women today, but the ideas young girls have about who they see as smart and successful.

Conservative Party Conference - Day One PA Archive / PA Images PA Archive / PA Images / PA Images

Who is really, really smart?

A study published in the journal Science suggests that girls as young as six can be led to believe men are inherently smarter and more talented than women, making girls less motivated to pursue novel activities or ambitious careers.

That such stereotypes exist is hardly a surprise, but the findings show these biases can affect children at a very young age.

“As a society, we associate a high level of intellectual ability with males more than females, and our research suggests that this association is picked up by children as young six and seven,” said Andrei Cimpian, associate professor in the psychology department at New York University. Cimpian coauthored the study, which looked at 400 children ages five to seven.

In the first part of the study, girls and boys were told a story about a person who is “really, really smart,” a child’s idea of brilliance, and then asked to identify that person among the photos of two men and two men.

The people in the photos were dressed professionally, looked the same age and appeared equally happy. At five, both boys and girls tended to associate brilliance with their own gender, meaning that most girls chose women and most boys chose men.

shutterstock_264184355 Shutterstock / mavo Shutterstock / mavo / mavo

But as they became older and began attending school, children apparently began endorsing gender stereotypes. At six and seven, girls were “significantly less likely” to pick women. The results were similar when the kids were shown photos of children.

Not so simple

Interestingly, when asked to select children who look like they do well in school, as opposed to being smart, girls tended to pick girls, which means that their perceptions of brilliance are not based on academic performance.

“These stereotypes float free of any objective markers of achievement and intelligence,” Cimpian said.

In the second part of the study, children were introduced to two new board games, one described as an activity “for children who are really, really smart” and the other one “for children who try really, really hard.”

Five-year-old girls and boys were equally likely to want to play the game for smart kids, but at age six and seven, boys still wanted to play that game, while girls opted for the other activity.

There isn’t anything about the game itself that becomes less interesting for girls, but rather it’s the description of it as being for kids that are really, really smart.

Different career choices

As a result, believing that they are not as gifted as boys, girls tend to shy away from demanding majors and fields, leading to big differences in aspirations and career choices between men and women.

“These stereotypes discourage women’s pursuit of many prestigious careers; that is, women are underrepresented in fields whose members cherish brilliance,” the authors wrote.

It is still unclear where the stereotypes come from. Parents, teachers and peers and the media are the usual suspects, Cimpian said. But it is evident that action must be taken so that these biases don’t curtail girls’ professional aspirations.

“Instill the idea that success in any line of work is not an innate ability, whatever it is, but rather putting your head down, being passionate about what you are doing,” Cimpian said, adding that exposure to successful women who can serve as role models also helps.

Gender Steroetypes Mark Lennihan / AP Images Mark Lennihan / AP Images / AP Images

Toy companies like Mattel, maker of the Barbie doll, have taken steps to try to reduce gender stereotypes. Mattel’s “You can be anything” Barbie campaign tells girls that they can be paleontologists, veterinarians or professors, among other careers. The campaign also holds out the possibility that a girl can imagine herself to be a fairy princess.

Rebecca S. Bigler, professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, described Cimpian’s study “as exceptionally nice work.”

She suggested that the stereotypes develop in early elementary school when students are exposed to famous scientists, composers and writers, the “geniuses” of history, who are overwhelmingly men. Bigler said it is important to combine that knowledge with information on gender discrimination.

“We need to explain to children that laws were created specifically to prevent women from becoming great scientists, artists, composers, writers, explorers, and leaders,” Bigler added. ”

Children will then be… more likely to believe in their own intellectual potential and contribute to social justice and equally by pursuing these careers themselves.”

With reporting from Gráinne Ní Aodha

Read: The Irish Girl Guides is to start allowing transgender children into their ranks

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30 Comments
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    Mute ⚡ Seánie ⚡
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    Jan 27th 2017, 6:28 AM

    Yet when I wear shorts to work I’m told to cover up…

    178
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    Mute Donncha Ó Coileáin
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    Jan 27th 2017, 6:40 AM

    Do like the train drivers here in Sweden when there was a heatwave a few years ago. The male drivers were told no shorts. So they got their hands on some of the women’s uniform skirts. Few days like that and equality was restored.

    232
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    Mute JJ O Riordan
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    Jan 27th 2017, 6:41 AM

    Double standards. They just don’t understand how hard it was to find stilettos in size 13.

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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Jan 27th 2017, 6:47 AM

    That’s pure sexism Seanie. What’s the point in going to the trouble of waxing if the boss man forces you to wear pants? If you want to show off your beautiful legs, you should do so. Stick it to the man!

    61
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    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
    Favourite Drew TheChinaman :)
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    Jan 27th 2017, 6:41 AM

    I’d wish I could wear heels to work….

    I could break through that short guy class ceiling and over come the unfair and unjust discrimination a 5’7 man faces in the workplace every day. It’s very demoralizing to know no matter what the quality of my work I’ll never be taken as seriously as my over 6ft colleagues.

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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Jan 27th 2017, 6:48 AM

    Wearing high heels worked for Tom Cruise, it can work for you too.

    61
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    Mute James Guinan
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    Jan 27th 2017, 7:17 AM

    Everyone should where the same INGSOC overall work uniform, then and only then shall we be all truely equal in the glorious state. Double plus good.

    68
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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Jan 27th 2017, 7:24 AM

    All men should also sport the same haircut as our dear leader as a mark of respect to his office

    55
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    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
    Favourite Drew TheChinaman :)
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    Jan 27th 2017, 7:41 AM

    Is there some kind of mechanical brace or hormone treatment for tall people and government mandated camp for fat people…

    A world without shame or discrimination, where impressions don’t count and no one can try anymore or any less. They’re judged just by the average number of widgets they assemble per week printed on their coveralls…. Sounds like true bliss.

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    Mute James Guinan
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    Jan 27th 2017, 7:47 AM

    Work camps for the fat? Don’t you know fat is a social construct of the past patriarchial capitialists facists. Fat people do not exist in the state, because everyone is who they are meant to be. Tall does not exist either, no matter how different someone may seem to be, they are not, that is just an illusion of your own mind testing your belief of the one true state. Equality above all else comrade.

    37
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    Mute Mrs M
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    Jan 27th 2017, 2:07 PM

    All hail the great leader , remember 2+2=5

    4
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    Mute cortisola
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    Jan 27th 2017, 5:41 PM

    @James Guinan: One Uniform, one Party, one Reich !!

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    Mute Seth Cheffetz
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    Jan 27th 2017, 7:31 AM

    Dress codes that discriminate against women???? In an office environment women have a huge choice of options to choose from while men are stuck with the traditional suit and tie for the most part.

    62
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    Mute Kal Ipers
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    Jan 27th 2017, 7:48 AM

    I used to work in a big insurance company where the staff manual had 14 pages for men on dress code policies and the women had 2 pages. Men weren’t allowed wear ties with designs on them with one image or shirts with images while women could wear blouses and scarves with anything on them. All tops worn by men had to have a collar on them on casual Friday’s so no t-shirts but women had no such restriction and did wear t-shirts. HR just laughed at anybody who said it was sexist

    66
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    Mute dearg doom
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    Jan 27th 2017, 9:12 AM

    Did any of those restrictions do as much damage as heels do to your spine and feet? I have been told by employers to wear heels and that flat shoes are not acceptable.

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    Mute Kal Ipers
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    Jan 27th 2017, 11:03 AM

    Dearg> to an extent that is a fair point. However you will also find men are often required to move heavy objects around in work when women are not. Seems reasonable enough until you get in situations where a small man is asked to move stuff when a much larger women is not. Used to work in a bar that had heavy covers to go on top of pool tables. A guy who was 5’2″ was made move the covers while the 6′ woman who was at least 3 stone of muscle more was not. He broke his foot carrying it one day.

    24
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    Mute Joseph Siddall
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    Jan 27th 2017, 9:45 AM

    Purposely misleading headline, could be easily misconstrued as a recent ‘instruction’ rather than an historical comment. Clickbait. Again.

    26
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    Mute Jeffrey McMahon
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    Jan 27th 2017, 8:41 AM

    Accompanying education on history’s greatest minds with lessons on gender discrimination? Fair enough, will they also include lessons on statistical variance between male and female intelligence? Males have more variance so more idiots and more geniuses while women cluster around a mean distribution. Chances are that’s more likely where the perception comes from.

    25
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    Mute Alex Falcone
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    Jan 27th 2017, 12:17 PM

    Heels and mini skirts just aren’t practical on building sites.

    15
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    Mute John Flood
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    Jan 27th 2017, 10:50 AM

    Who, what, where, and when did employers ask for sexier clothes on their female employees? Fake news?

    14
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    Mute Val Martin
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    Jan 27th 2017, 9:28 AM

    Well if I am running a factory and one female employee comes to work in the nude, what should I do if productivity falls?

    10
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    Mute Jeffrey McMahon
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    Jan 27th 2017, 10:06 AM

    Stop fapping and get back to work?

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    Mute Tony Hardwicke
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    Jan 27th 2017, 2:18 PM

    Boiler suits for all I say

    3
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    Mute Garreth Byrne
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    Jan 27th 2017, 3:10 PM

    @Tony Hardwicke: Chairman Mao and the Cultural Revolution. Bring back the little red book.

    3
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