Ontario issues dress-code warning

Rights watchdog warns women to ‘speak-up’

Thestar.com
March 8, 2016
By Rob Ferguson

Is cleavage a legitimate job requirement?

The new boss of Ontario’s Human Rights Commission is reminding employers that requiring women to wear low-cut tops and short skirts, tight dresses or high heels could violate the human rights code.

Such dress codes are “all too common in some restaurants and bars,” commissioner Renu Mandhane warned Tuesday, marking International Women’s Day and the unanimous passage in the legislature of law bolstering protections against workplace sexual harassment and violence.

The commission issued a policy paper on gender-specific dress codes to encourage women to “speak up” or file complaints if they face different rules than men.

“Excellent customer service doesn’t have a cup size,” said Kathy Laird, executive director of the Human Rights Legal Support Centre.

All employees should be free to decide what they wear to work as long as it complies with reasonable dress codes or requirements for staff uniforms, she said.

“It’s all about choice,” Laird added, noting too many women are subjected to unwanted advances or worse from bosses, co-workers and customers as a result of discriminatory dress codes.

“I hope women will call us for legal help if cleavage is deemed an essential skill in their workplace.”

In the wake of the policy paper, Earls Restaurants - known for their Earls Girls - will now change its dress code to give female servers the option of wearing straight cut plain black pants instead of skirts.

“We were unaware we were in contravention of the Ontario Human Rights Code until this morning,” Earls spokeswoman Cate Simpson wrote in an emailed statement.

There is a “suggested dress code” for female servers at Earls but they are “not required to wear short skirts, skimpy clothing, heavy makeup, or high heels,” Simpson said.

Laird said that is a welcome move but added: “If Earls is taking that step, hopefully women will be able to button up their tops higher, too.”

Eager to change the “sicko ... outdated” culture in his industry, an Ottawa restaurant owner has started a social-media campaign with the slogan “why don’t men ever get asked to show a little more skin?”

Ivan Gedz of Union 613, along with several male staff, will be wearing low-cut tops, skirts and high heels on Wednesday night to highlight what he calls the “absurdity” of skimpy dress codes targeting women.

“It’s not the attire that’s sleazy, it’s the mandating of that attire that’s sleazy,” he said.

“If you were to take that business model and apply it to Sobeys or your bank, perhaps the shock value would make you question it.”

Women’s Issues Minister Tracy MacCharles told reporters at Queen’s Park that she hopes women troubled by dress codes will raise concerns with their bosses but has no immediate plans to take stronger action.

“If we need to look at it, we’ll look at it ... women have complaint options if that’s the route they need to go.”

New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath urged the government to crack down.

“There’s no way a woman should be asked to exploit her own sexuality for the purposes of financial gain for her employer,” she said.

“The government needs to take some leadership in terms of setting standards about what people can and cannot be asked to do as part of their employment.”

Progressive Conservative MPP Laurie Scott said employers should “revisit” their dress codes so that they apply equally to women and men.

A call by the Star to Hooters headquarters in the U.S. was not returned. The industry organization Restaurants Canada declined an interview request but said members are encouraged to have dress codes that treat men and women equally.