Gender-based dress codes
standards of dress associated with gender
Gender-based dress codes are dress codes that establish separate standards of clothing and grooming for men and women. These dress codes may also contain specifications related to the wearing of cosmetics and heels and the styling of hair. Gender-based dress codes are commonly enforced in workplaces and educational institutions. Dress codes with gendered requirements may disproportionately impact workers and students who are women, gender nonconforming, transgender, or non-binary.
About
LGBT rights organizations have advised against mandatory gender-based dress codes. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), "If an employer has a dress code, it should modify it to avoid gender stereotypes and enforce it consistently." The HRC lists policies requiring women to wear skirts or men to wear pants as an example of a dress code that reinforces gender stereotypes.
Canada
Gender-based dress codes are considered a form of sex discrimination in Ontario. According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, "sexualized" or "gender-specific" dress codes may harm women, reinforce gender stereotypes, and exclude transgender people and other marginalized groups.
During the 2010s and 2020s, public and private school students in Quebec have protested against gender-based dress codes that disproportionately impact female students. In 2020, male students at several Quebec high schools wore skirts to protest dress code restrictions that singled out female students.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Gender-based dress codes” is standards of dress associated with gender. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Gender-based, dress and codes, not as a finished interpretation.
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