Bosses tell female employees to be ‘sexier’ for work video meetings, study suggests

submitted by greenish from (uk.finance.yahoo.com)

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[–]meranii 16 insightful - 10 fun16 insightful - 9 fun17 insightful - 10 fun -  (1 child)

If my boss told me to wear more makeup to be sexier for zoom meetings I'd straight up put on clown makeup and then play dumb when he complains.

Personally, I've only ever encountered the (no less sexist) opposite, where male bosses thought they could complain to me about middle aged women dressing "too young" or "too sexy" because they dared wear a skirt and the boss has some really weird conservative views (i.e. only young sexy women should show their legs).

[–][deleted] 6 insightful - 4 fun6 insightful - 3 fun7 insightful - 4 fun -  (0 children)

That’s a wonderful idea. Or dress Goth. Black makeup or zombie or anything else.

[–]firebird 16 insightful - 2 fun16 insightful - 1 fun17 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

If you need to work from home because there is an actual pandemic going on and you're just sitting there being concerned with just how sexy your female employees are, I think it's safe to say that your priorities aren't really in order and you probably shouldn't be the boss of anything.

[–]RevengeOfTheCis 15 insightful - 1 fun15 insightful - 0 fun16 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

This is the kind of shit that TIMs can't even begin to understand about being a woman. These comments about our looks in EXTREMELY inappropriate settings start so young, most of us probably had some said to us before we ourselves could even talk.

And it goes on our entire lives, following us through school and into the workforce. A lifetime of comments emphasizing the importance of our looks over our minds wears women down. Men see it as a small comment here or there, but for women, it is death by a thousand paper cuts.

And then men, TIMs, and pickmes have the audacity to claim these comments don't matter. That they're "harmless", or that it's just a "sleazy old man," or "don't let it get to you." Uh, it's not about the comment getting to ME, it's about the comment getting to HIM. If that is what he thinks about me, is he going to take me seriously during a salary negotiation? Is he going to respect my ideas at work? Is he going to trust me with complex projects? When he only sees me as a pretty thing for him to enjoy looking at in a Zoom meeting, you don't see how that can affect my career?

FUCK, I'm sick of this shit!

[–][deleted] 13 insightful - 2 fun13 insightful - 1 fun14 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

TiMs fantasize about this shit.

[–]jkfinn 14 insightful - 1 fun14 insightful - 0 fun15 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Slater and Gordon employment lawyer Danielle Parsons said: “It is categorically wrong for a manager or anyone in a position of power to suggest, even politely, for a woman to be more sexually appealing in the workplace.... This is a powerful form of coercion which makes women feel as if they must adhere to the manager’s request and be more visually pleasing to be successful at their job. This is demeaning to women.

It seems like all the headlines of late referring to sexual harassment in the workplace--Washington Redskins, NY Giants etc, has like no impact at all in the equivalent bosses in other businesses. It’s almost like today’s news is old or no news a couple days later when it comes to sexist coverage.

But the real story here is that even working at home (possibly the new normal) is no protection from being viewed as a sex object in your work environment. The bosses have found a way, not only for their women employees to be seen and judged, but also of insisting that their specific attention to dress, makeup &sexiness be understood as a job requirement.

[–]zeekiel 10 insightful - 2 fun10 insightful - 1 fun11 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

"horny man projects sex fantasies onto modern indentured servants"

[–]RevengeOfTheCis 9 insightful - 2 fun9 insightful - 1 fun10 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

"Uhhh, boss, this window is your Zoom meeting, not your cam girl..."

[–][deleted] 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

What's total bullshit as well is that most people don't look well on camera. I'm convinced the heavy heavy makeup young women are wearing today is so they're "stage ready" for camera selfies-- it's like normalizing "stage makeup" for everyday use.