High heel policy

A high heel policy is a regulation or law about the wearing of high heels, which may be required or forbidden in different places and circumstances.

High heels have been restricted by law and policy in various places such as schools, museums, and localities such as Mobile, Alabama.[1] In this case, the sign forbids them on Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara, California.
A pair of pumps/court shoes with 12 cm (4 3⁄4 inches) stiletto heels

Historically in the West high heels were associated with aristocrats for cosmetic reasons, to emphasise social status among an elite who could afford to wear impractical footwear, to raise their height, or to keep feet and long dresses clean. The style was then subject to sumptuary laws. In more modern times, stiletto heels have been restricted when they might damage the floor surface or cause accidents.

Some dress codes, however, require women to wear high heels so that they appear to be taller and more attractive. Such footwear may be painful and damage the feet, and there have been repeated protests by women workers against such policies. In 2016, a British receptionist was dismissed for not wearing high heels and she then started a petition which attracted sufficient support to be considered by the UK Parliament.

Regulations preventing the wearing of high heels

In history

In 1430, chopines were 30 inches (76 cm) high, at times. Venetian law then limited the height to three inches—but this regulation was widely ignored.[2] A 17th-century law in Massachusetts announced that women would be subjected to the same treatment as witches if they lured men into marriage via the use of high-heeled shoes.[3] In 1770, an act was introduced into the British parliament which would have applied the same penalties as witchcraft to the use of high heels and other cosmetic devices.[4]

Floor surface concerns

The pressure under a stiletto heel is greater (per unit of the very small area) than that under the feet of an elephant.[5] Thus, as the very narrow stiletto heel became more widespread in the 1950s, the owners of many types of buildings became concerned about the effects of large numbers of such heels on their floors, especially in historic and high-traffic public buildings. Specifically, there was concern that the heels would either damage certain types of floor covering or cause minor accidents through heels getting jammed in floor-grills, the gaps in planking, or uneven surfaces. Soft outdoor ground also caused problems, affecting both the surface and the wearer. Wood flooring was the most vulnerable, but carpets, linoleum, and mosaic floors were also considered at risk of damage. Signs were frequently posted attempting to ban stiletto heels, though they were generally ineffective. A 1963 article in a US building maintenance magazine stated, "Replacement of floors is estimated to have cost at least half a billion dollars throughout the country since the advent of the stiletto heel fashion."[6] The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service claimed in 1963 that "with style changes the stiletto-heel problem has diminished".[7]

High heels can represent contributory negligence by the plaintiff in American personal injury cases involving slip and fall accidents.[8] Many high heel policies in the US are related to concerns over the potential for legal claims.

Regulations requiring the wearing of high heels

In media and fashion

Some women have challenged the expectation that women should wear high heels in formal social situations. In 2015, a group of women were turned away from a film première at the Cannes Film Festival in France for wearing flat shoes, including a woman physically unable to wear heels due to an operation on one of her feet.[9] The women complained that this was a sexist policy which forced women into a stereotyped appearance; festival organisers later responded that there was no official policy on footwear and stated that they would remind red carpet officials of this.[9][10]

In workplaces

Some dress codes require women to wear high heels, and some medical organizations have called for a ban on such dress codes.[11] There have been repeated protests by women workers against such policies. Laws regarding dress codes that require women to wear high heels in the workplace vary.

It has been argued that high heels in the workplace should be subject to a health and safety assessment.[12][13]

Canada

Guidelines on acceptable dress codes in the workplace are permitted by Canadian law in order to ensure that employees are able to complete their work safely and effectively.[14] However the inclusion of the wearing of high heels in these guidelines has created controversy. Some workplace studies show that women in the hospitality industry who wear high heels have suffered injuries after tripping, falling or slipping.[14] In addition, requirements for appearance which differ for male and female employees have the potential to be considered discriminatory.[14]

In 2014, waitresses at three restaurant chains in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, claimed that they were required to wear high heels at work despite complaining of pain and injury. Management responded that there was no written policy on wearing high heels.[15]

In April 2017, the Canadian province of British Columbia amended workplace legislation to prevent employers from requiring women to wear high heels at work. British Columbia premier Christy Clark stated that the government was "changing this regulation to stop this unsafe and discriminatory practice."[16] Other Canadian provinces followed suit.[17]

United States

During the mid-1990s, several US-based airlines required female flight attendants to wear shoes with heels. Minimum heel heights ranged from one-half inch to the two inches mandated by USAir.[18] Flight attendants at times avoided censure by changing into more comfortable shoes during flights, since their supervisors were less likely to be present there.[19]

Policies that force women to wear heels have been challenged in a number of locations. In 2001, cocktail waitresses in Las Vegas organised a "Kiss My Foot" campaign which was successful in getting casinos to relax their requirement to wear high heels.[20]

United Kingdom

In 2009, the UK Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists released a report outlining the dangers of wearing high heels for extended periods and approached unions and employers to collaborate on measures to ensure risk assessments would be completed on women's footwear, and to offer alternatives to high heels where these were deemed unhealthy.[12]

Similar policies were tested again in the UK in 2016 when a temporary receptionist, Nicola Thorp, was sent home unpaid after she refused to follow the dress code at the office of accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers. Outsourcing firm Portico stated that Thorp "had signed the appearance guidelines" but after Thorp launched an online petition—"Make it illegal for a company to require women to wear high heels at work"—the firm changed their policy. The new guideline states that all female employees "can wear plain flat shoes or plain court shoes as they prefer."[21] The petition gained widespread support from public figures such as Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and MPs Caroline Dinenage, Margot James and Tulip Siddiq.[22][23] Two parliamentary committees in January 2017 decided that Portico had broken the law; the company had already changed its terms of employment.[22][24] The petition gained over 130,000 signatures, sufficient for a debate in the British parliament.[25] This took place on 6 March 2017, when MPs decided the UK government should change the law to prevent the demand being made by employers.[24][26] However, this was rejected by the government in April 2017 as they stated that existing legislation was "adequate".[27] Existing legislation allows women to be required to wear high heels, but only if it is considered a job requirement and men in the same job are required to dress to an "equivalent level of smartness".[28]

Israel

In 2015, the Israeli airline El Al introduced a requirement that female flight attendants wear high heels until passengers had been seated.[29] The airline's workers' union stated that the requirement would endanger the health and safety of the flight attendants and instructed its members to ignore the rule. Later that year the requirement was removed.[30]

Philippines

Also in 2017, the Philippines forbade companies from mandating that female employees wear high heels at work.[31]

Japan

In 2019, a petition against mandatory high heels was started in Japan with the hashtag #KuToo, blending the #MeToo movement with the Japanese words for shoes (kutsu) and pain (kutsuu).[32] Japan's labor minister commented that high heels are necessary for women.[33]

See also

References
  1. Kunzle, David (2013), Fashion and Fetishism, The History Press, ISBN 9780752495453
  2. Margo DeMello (2009). Feet and Footwear: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press/ABC-CLIO. p. 311. ISBN 978-0-313-35714-5.
  3. Margo DeMello (10 September 2009). Feet and Footwear: A Cultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 323. ISBN 978-0-313-35715-2.
  4. John Brookes (1859), Manners and Customs of the English Nation, James Blackwood, pp. 261–262, In the year 1770 an act was introduced into Parliament against hoops, false hair, high heels...
  5. Green, Jack (2003). "Pressure Under High Heels". The Physics Factbook. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  6. Modern Sanitation and Building Maintenance, Volume 15, 1963
  7. United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, research note, Forest Products Laboratory, 1963
  8. Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen, Jon R. Abele, Slips, Trips, Missteps, and Their Consequences, p. 170, Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company, 2007, ISBN 1933264012, 9781933264011, google books
  9. "Emily Blunt on Cannes heels row: 'everybody should wear flats'". The Telegraph. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  10. "Cannes denies high-heel rule for women on red carpet". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  11. Barnish, MS; Barnish, J (13 January 2016). "High-heeled shoes and musculoskeletal injuries: a narrative systematic review". BMJ Open. 6 (1): e010053. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010053. PMC 4735171. PMID 26769789.
  12. "UK unions spark debate over high heels at work". Reuters. 16 September 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  13. "High heels 'should be banned at work'". The Telegraph. 2009.
  14. "Canadian Labour & Employment Law Blog | High Heels in the Workplace could be High Risk for Employers | Miller Thomson". www.millerthomson.com. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  15. Hart, Danielle. "Original Joe's, Boston Pizza servers claim mandatory high heel policies". Global News. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  16. Collig, Pádraig (8 April 2017). "Canadian province makes it illegal to require women to wear high heels". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  17. "Alberta takes steps to ban mandatory high heels in the workplace | National Post". National Post. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  18. Marc Linder (1 January 1997). "Smart Women, Stupid Shoes, and Cynical Employers". University of Iowa. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  19. Jane C. Banaszak-Holl; Sandra R. Levitsky; Mayer N. Zald (24 June 2010). Social Movements and the Transformation of American Health Care. Oxford University Press. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-19-974214-1.
  20. Chandler, Susan; Jones, Jill (2011), Casino Women: Courage in Unexpected Places, Cornell University Press, p. 43, ISBN 9780801450143
  21. Johnston, Chris (12 May 2016). "Woman's high-heel petition receives 100,000-plus signatures". the Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  22. McIntosh, Lindsay (16 May 2016). "Heel-loving Sturgeon steps into shoe debate". The Times. London. Retrieved 7 March 2017. (subscription required)
  23. Yorke, Harry (12 May 2016). "MPs back temp worker's campaign to end 'sexist' high heel policy". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  24. Bilefsky, Dan (6 March 2017). "British Woman's Revolt Against High Heels Becomes a Cause in Parliament". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  25. Kaur Grewal, Herpreet (17 May 2016), "Temp's 'high heels' petition heads for Parliament", FM World
  26. Helen Jones, the MP for Warrington North (6 March 2017). "Workplace Dress Codes (High Heels)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: Westminster Hall. col. 198WH–216WH.
  27. "High heels row: Petition for work dress code law rejected". BBC News. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  28. Yorke, Harr (21 April 2017). "Employers can force women to wear high heels as Government rejects campaign to ban the practice". The Telegraph.
  29. Tucker, Erika. "'I don't think the girls thought they could question it': high heels policy study author". Global News. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  30. Yedidyah Ben Or, 10/09/15 12:26. "El Al Flight Attendants Say Goodbye to High Heels". Israel National News. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  31. "Philippines bans mandatory high heels at work". Reuters. 25 September 2017.
  32. Thousands back Japan high heels campaign, BBC News, 3 June 2019
  33. High heels at work are necessary, says Japan's labour minister The Guardian, 2019
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