| No Images? Click here   The Pain Of High HeelsOn Monday, Kristen Stewart flouted the Cannes Film Festival's infuriating rule that women must wear heels to red-carpet screenings. Soon after her photo was snapped, the actress removed her red-bottom Christian Louboutin stilettos and walked the rest of the carpet barefoot to a screening of a Spike Lee film. I've been following the high-heel beat for a while now and Cannes is definitely not the only organization to have rules about women's footwear. A few years ago the consulting firm PWC sparked an outcry for also requiring women to wear heels to work -- while, obviously, not asking men to do the same. In the U.S. a formal rule like that is uncommon, and would be considered sex discrimination under federal civil rights law, an official at the EEOC told me a while ago. But there are also unwritten rules that keep women confined to these tottering and often painful shoes. For women in law, finance and consulting, heels are just part of what's considered professional. "I'm bound to a career in heels," a woman working in private equity told me when I last wrote about shoes. An ambitious young person eager to keep her career on the right track, she was told early on by a colleague that if she wanted to be taking seriously in her industry, heels were a must. So she started donning 4 inch stilettos at work. Even in the tech industry, where men in hoodies and jeans run multibillion dollar companies -- the rules are different for women. Look at Facebook, where CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made his mark in grey T-shirts; while COO Sheryl Sandberg is almost always perfectly turned out in stilettos and a sheath dress. Every time I write about women wearing heels, I get emails about how some women love them -- they feel empowered and gorgeous in a nice pair of shoes. And that's great! My point is: forcing women to wear what can be for some of us very painful footwear is discrimination, just another example of the kind of gender bias were facing in the office. Good on Stewart for calling it out. Before you go...You can follow me on Twitter @EmilyRPeck    More Delicous Content HuffPost is now a part of Oath and a part of Verizon. On May 25th 2018 we will be introducing a new Oath Privacy Policy which will explain how your data is used and shared. Learn More.The reality of being a woman — by the numbers. Like what you see? Share it with a friend. Did someone forward this email? Subscribe here. Can't get enough? Check out The Good Life.©2018 HuffPost | 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 |
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