Kick off the stilettos and stand tall without the heels: the fight for dress code equality in workplace
As the UK considers whether it is discriminatory for companies to demand female employees wear high heels, City Weekend examines whether Hong Kong is at similar risk of workplace dress code sexism
Kwong Ho-yin is a trailblazer for female equality in Hong Kong.
The Association for the Advancement of Feminism has said some female teachers particularly continue to face discriminatory dress codes, specifically being told they must wear skirts rather than trousers.
A spokeswoman for the campaign group told the Post they remained “very much concerned” by the attitude of the Education Bureau, which insists dress codes can be enforced at the discretion of individual schools.
“We believe these kind of cases could be happening quite often, although we don’t compile statistics,” she said. “We did follow up [Kwong’s] case with the government, but their reply was very disappointing. They said it was a school policy. They said it was not their responsibility to intervene.”
Issues of dress are best addressed by looking at the purpose of the dress code and seeing how that purpose can be achieved through compromise and negotiation