December 4, 2019
A women’s rights activist on December 3 submitted to the Labor Ministry a written request demanding that the ministry’s guidelines for workplace harassment prevention should explicitly recognize sexist dress codes as harassment.
The activist is Ishikawa Yumi, who is a founder of the “KuToo” campaign against discriminatory workplace rules which, for example, oblige female workers to wear high-heeled shoes. Ishikawa was listed in the BBC’s 100 notable women of 2019.
Speaking at a press conference held in the Labor Ministry office building, Ishikawa cited examples of unreasonable workplace dress codes. She said that many female workers, such as staff in airline companies and saleswomen in insurance companies, are forced to wear high-heeled shoes at work. Ishikawa also said that in some companies, female employees are prohibited from wearing glasses and/or are required to wear make-up.
Referring to the recently-published draft guidelines for workplace harassment prevention, Ishikawa pointed out that the draft guidelines fails to mention sexist dress codes. She said, “Those in a weak position to refuse high-heeled shoes rules are crying out for help. All workers have the right to work under a good work environment regardless of genders.” The Labor Ministry is now soliciting public comments about the draft guidelines.
At the press conference, another activist who accompanied Ishikawa spoke about her experience which she faced three years ago during job-hunting activities. She said that when she was wearing high-heeled shoes because of the unwritten dress code for job-seekers, she sprained her ankle in a fall and had to continue her job search on crutches for two weeks.
Past related article:
> Goodbye to required wearing of high-heeled shoes [June 12, 2019]
The activist is Ishikawa Yumi, who is a founder of the “KuToo” campaign against discriminatory workplace rules which, for example, oblige female workers to wear high-heeled shoes. Ishikawa was listed in the BBC’s 100 notable women of 2019.
Speaking at a press conference held in the Labor Ministry office building, Ishikawa cited examples of unreasonable workplace dress codes. She said that many female workers, such as staff in airline companies and saleswomen in insurance companies, are forced to wear high-heeled shoes at work. Ishikawa also said that in some companies, female employees are prohibited from wearing glasses and/or are required to wear make-up.
Referring to the recently-published draft guidelines for workplace harassment prevention, Ishikawa pointed out that the draft guidelines fails to mention sexist dress codes. She said, “Those in a weak position to refuse high-heeled shoes rules are crying out for help. All workers have the right to work under a good work environment regardless of genders.” The Labor Ministry is now soliciting public comments about the draft guidelines.
At the press conference, another activist who accompanied Ishikawa spoke about her experience which she faced three years ago during job-hunting activities. She said that when she was wearing high-heeled shoes because of the unwritten dress code for job-seekers, she sprained her ankle in a fall and had to continue her job search on crutches for two weeks.
Past related article:
> Goodbye to required wearing of high-heeled shoes [June 12, 2019]
