The brouhaha about Desiree Goodwin, the woman who is suing Harvard for discrimination – based on derogatory comments about her manner of dress, she claims they’ve denied her opportunities for promotion 16 TIMES – poses an ethical quandry.
First, working in an office is stressful for the majority of people. Over 50% of American workers are unhappy with their jobs, and no wonder: their work environments are sealed deathtraps (e.g., 9/11) where, statistically speaking, one out of every 25 of their coworkers is a nutcase (see my post on sociopathy in the US).
So, if some cute, youngish (Goodwin is 40) thing sashays around in short skirts and plunging necklines, one can’t entirely fault “management” for asking her to tone it down, in the interest of maintaining a semblance of decorum. Heaven knows, the environment already has enough distractions, like bad air and crazy coworkers, to erode concentration and productivity.
On the other hand, as long as personal hygiene and basic respect for others isn’t an issue, who cares what Desiree Goodwin wears? Shouldn’t she be judged by the quality of her work and her professional contribution to the organization?
Or has the American workplace become so warped that appearance has become more important than any other factor in employment decisions?
A sampling of the readers of the Boston Globe said “Yes”. A recent poll (54 responses) asking “Does it matter how you dress for work?” provided the following results:
Yes, appearance is everything – 51.9%
It does, but it shouldn’t – 33.3%
No, doing a good job is all that’s important – 14.8%
I wonder about the 51.9% – they are either careless readers, skipping the “It does, but …” option, or they believe that, in fact, appearance SHOULD be everything.
In any event, I’d like the privilege of working with the 33.3%, wouldn’t you?