A London
PwC female employee who refused to wear heels going to work had started a
petition that has so far earned 120,000 signatures from the rest of the United
Kingdom.
Worldwide,
the petition gained support after it had made headlines.
Nicola
Thorpe, a PwC former clerk, had started the petition after she was "made
fun of" of her superiors, who had her go home without pay until she changed
her outfit.
"It's
still legal in the UK for a company to require female members of staff to wear
high heels at work against their will," the petition states. "Dress
code laws should be changed so that women have the option to wear flat formal
shoes at work, if they wish. Current formal work dress codes are outdated and
sexist."
Thorpe said
employers still have the right to impose different dress codes for men and
women. However, this is only fair when the dress code doesn't favour one of the
sexes," according to Thorp.
Studies
have shown repeatedly the effects of wearing high-heels for more than eight
hours, which are often required of these women. Some studies have highlighted
that females who wear high heels more than one hour and 30 minutes start to
experience excruciating pain.
