Beyond Glass Ceilings and Brick Walls - International Labour ...

Consider the case of gender micropolitics experienced by a company lawyer:
“Unlike other women in the office, I do not call my boss ‘sir’, I call him
Mr......, I don’t say ‘yes, yes, sir’ breathlessly. I’ll give him my opinion. I
don’t get up when he walks by, unlike the entire department who jump up
like jack-in-the-boxes when he walks through; I don’t sit on the edge of my
seat when I am at meetings with him, I sit like this - straight - with my spine
against the seat-back, with my arms on the arm rests…”
This lawyer contended that one of the reasons that she was continuously
harassed via denials and delays in promotions and increments as well as
denied company benefits such as a car (even the car that was finally
assigned to her was a dilapidated vehicle in need of constant repairs) by
senior management, was for not adopting an obsequious demeanour.
Currently, her next promotion is being delayed, while others who are
junior to her from other departments have been promoted to management
positions.
At the same time, women in certain job categories (such as plantation
workers and factory workers) can be regulated to such extents where they
are not allowed to speak to one another as they work.
5) Gendered Dress Codes
Of late, business organizations (particularly some of the newer and smaller
companies) are in the process of adopting more lenient dress codes for their
employees.
Of course, workers in factories, sales personnel, and service personnel etc,
may be required to wear a uniform. In departments and jobs that do not
involve marketing, public relations, and other forms of client/company
interaction, the formality of a tie can give way to plain trousers and shirt for
men, and the traditional sari or dress suits to more convenient trouser suits
for women. However, unlike for men, more women employees are required
to dress formally in sari, possibly to project the company image. This echoes
socio-cultural tendencies of many societies and families that expect women,
rather than men, to visually represent social class, ethnicity, modernity, etc.
through their dress.
Work areas like Show rooms and Receptions where there is company/
client mixing tend to place more emphasis on appearance-especially the
dress and appearance of women.
One woman-employee says that she was expected to wear high heels;
she worked in a Bank and moved with customers, despite developing a
backache because of it. To a great extent, women workers were seen to
‘perform’ these gender dress codes as a given, as they were often perceived
as linked to the post itself.
47