There’s an Ask A Manager letter from a few months ago, where a woman wrote in because her boss was throwing a fit over her maternity wardrobe. She linked a photo of a perfectly conservative maternity dress that the boss didn’t like because he said the side ruching and empire waistline were “unprofessional” and “inappropriate”, and that she needed to dress according to his standards. He then demanded that she tuck in her shirts and wear a belt. Over her pregnant belly.
She wrote in with an update, yesterday. She went to HR, which shut her boss up but he wasn’t happy about it. Then, while she was on maternity leave, she found out the boss was fired for telling an intern he’d get her a job in exchange for sexual favors.
If you think the problem here is women “sexually signaling”, you are vastly mistaken. The problem is men deciding that women need to appeal to them, regardless of whether or not we give a shit.
