There will be red faces today among Lippo Securities' board of directors. Something much more major than the loss of a million dollars playing the markets is at stake. It is the loss of face for a board that has shown itself impervious to the negative publicity unleashed by its decision to fine female employees for wearing trousers, but must now swallow its pride because the Labour Department has warned it is breaking the law. Lippo may not approve of women in trousers, but it is not permitted to dock female employees' pay when they fail to display their calves.
The company deserves its embarrassment. Any firm is entitled to a dress code. It is not unreasonable to expect staff to dress formally and Lippo is hardly alone in believing, however narrow-mindedly, that women should wear skirts and men should wear ties. Nevertheless, it is clearly unreasonable - to say nothing of illegal - to start docking employees' pay for breaches of the code. Instead, staff should be encouraged to appreciate the contribution their standards of dress make to Lippo's corporate image and their chances of personal advancement. Neither they nor their employers benefits from Draconian punishments for failing to conform.
There should also be red faces at the newly-established Equal Opportunities Commission, which came into being yesterday but failed its first test so miserably. Here was an open-and-shut case of sexual stereo-typing for its new team to cut their teeth on. It was also, arguably, a case of cultural stereo-typing, since the notion that men must wear ties and women skirts is Western. Yet it chose to remain silent. There may be more serious cases of discrimination facing the Commission, but proving it is aware of the issues that affect people's daily lives would have enhanced its reputation.
Neither Lippo Securities nor the Commission should be proud of their performance.
