Democratic lawmaker: Women's clothing an 'invitation to harassment'

[NewJeffCT]

53. I've worked in several large corporations

there are generally rules for attire for both men and women: no shorts, t-shirts, sneakers, jeans, etc are pretty common for both sexes, and no ripped jeans if you have casual Fridays or similar. Tank tops are usually not allowed, either. And, not sure about strapless tops. I'm also not sure if there have been directions about the amount of cleavage a woman can show or not, but I would think that might fall under a more general "and other" attire that might not be considered professional. To be honest, I worked for a very large corporation throughout the 90s that had significantly more female than male employees and I don't remember much cleavage at all - maybe peer pressure among the women? And, I'm sure back when I was in the 20s to early 30s, I likely would have noticed.

Of course, when I first started in the workplace circa 1990, it was suits and ties for men, and either dresses or women's suits (pantsuits or blazer/blouse/skirt) for women. That eventually became more relaxed over time - contribute $10 to the United Way and you can wear jeans the next 10 Fridays - first to casual Fridays and then business casual.