It's different for men!

Non-fashion, non-skirt, non-gender discussions. If your post is related to fashion, skirts or gender, please choose one of the forums above for it.
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Ash
Active Member
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 3:01 pm
Location: Leicester UK

It's different for men!

Post by Ash »

Hi all,
Here's a depressing piece of news I came across yesterday. A tribunal has ruled against a guy having a ponytail on the basis that employers are perfectly entitled to impose different dress standards depending on gender. He brought the complaint on the basis of sexual discrimination, which seems a perfectly reasonable position to take. From the pic he looks absolutely fine, can't see why his employers feel they have to take issue with it at all. Just as well he wasn't wearing a skirt as well! I wonder how that would've gone over?
Sometimes it feels like none of us are making much progress in eroding these absurd and arbritary boundaries.......

Here's the link the news report:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nott ... 970628.stm

All best wishes,
ash
Daring to be different.
Stevie D
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 479
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:56 pm
Location: Sheffield, UK

Post by Stevie D »

Ash wrote:Hi all,
Here's a depressing piece of news I came across yesterday. A tribunal has ruled against a guy having a ponytail on the basis that employers are perfectly entitled to impose different dress standards depending on gender. He brought the complaint on the basis of sexual discrimination, which seems a perfectly reasonable position to take. From the pic he looks absolutely fine, can't see why his employers feel they have to take issue with it at all. Just as well he wasn't wearing a skirt as well! I wonder how that would've gone over?
Sometimes it feels like none of us are making much progress in eroding these absurd and arbritary boundaries.......

Here's the link the news report:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nott ... 970628.stm

All best wishes,
ash
Just to set things in context a bit and to let you know that all is not doom and gloom....

I have long hair - it has been shoulder-length or longer for many years now. I have had several succesful job interviews during this period, whilst wearing my hair either loose or tied back in a pony-tail. I have never ever been critcised for my hair in a job interview, nor, in any employment, been asked to cut it short. In my current work place (one of the NERC research councils) there are quite a few men with long hair. Without exception, they all keep it clean, neat and tidy, and there is no problem with it.

I would guess that the company highlighted in the BBC report is in a minority with its bigoted and negative attitude. It is newsworthy. You don't hear about the hundreds or thousands of other employers to whom mens' long hair is a perfectly acceptable non-event.
Stevie D
(Sheffield, South Yorkshire)
Renesm
Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2004 8:22 pm

I'm looking forward to meeting this company

Post by Renesm »

I did a bit of research and their website is www.zeda.co.uk. Anyway, they are in the business of IT security and funnily enough I'm an IT security journalist (and I have long hair).

I wonder how they'd react if I had a press briefing with them and I turned up with long hair and wearing my Twenty-First Century kilt suit?

Anyway, it is not good PR for them. In fact if someone was to point out this fact to their PR company (Portfoilo Communications - contact details below) I'm sure they would be very grateful for the advice on how to be a forward-looking company.

Portfolio Communications,
Russell Chambers,
The Piazza,
Covent Garden,
London
WC2E 8AA

Tel:
+44 (0)20 7240 6959

Email: [url="mailto:zeda@portfoliocomms.com"]zeda@portfoliocomms.com[/url]

Also, I know a lot of people in the IT security game with long hair, Mikko Hypponen of anti-virus company F-Secure most definately has long hair and is that company's biggest asset. I can't see how long hair has detracted from his job (BTW - He is very intelligent and one of the nicest blokes you'll meet).

Someone else springs to mind is a guy called Marc Maffriet of eEye. Doesn't have long hair but does look like he should be in that band Green Day, again unusual appearance hasn't stopped him from being a great security expert, he embodies that company's brand and that counts for a lot in this game.

Anyway, that's my considered opinion.

Ren
Ash
Active Member
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 3:01 pm
Location: Leicester UK

Post by Ash »

Interesting stuff Ren, thanks for the input.

ash
Daring to be different.
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