Today I went to a workshop at our Career Center titled "How To Work A Job Fair." It was very beneficial for the upcoming job fairs that I am going to, but ONE THING that was mentioned at the workshop really irked me. And it has bothered me all damn day!
The first thing that I was told at this workshop was what to wear for the job fairs. I was instructed that I (as a woman) needed to wear a black, gray, or navy PANT SUIT!!! They said that we can wear a skit suit if we must, but that a pant suit is the most preferred outfit! Why does this irk me to no end, you may ask. Well, to me, pant suits are for men! And I know that Hilary Clinton wears pant suits all of the time, but she at least gets to wear them in fun colors such as yellow and lavender. I have to wear one that is either black, gray, or navy. How masculine is that?
To me, this pant suit business is just screaming "If you do not dress like a man for this job fair then no one will want to hire you because you look like a woman, and who wants to hire a woman?!" And frankly, I think that this is ridiculous. I do NOT own a pant suit. I have never owned a pant suit, and I have to wear dress clothes a lot for my sorority and I still do not own a pant suit. I wear colored dress pants with heels and a cute sweater. I wear dresses with cardigans, and shirts with Peter-Pan collars, NOT PANT SUITS!
I think that this very much shows the presence of the male gaze in our society, especially in the workforce. And the fact that in order to be a successful woman you have to act/look/be like a man. The male gaze is very present in the workforce because in order to be a high-powered woman you have to dress like a man (aka- black, gray, or navy pant suit), because we equate success and power in society with being masculine and male. Thus, you can't wear a hot pink skirt and a shirt with a Peter-Pan collar to work if you are a woman with a high power job. I do not understand why not, but I suppose that this would only be a reminder to people that you are a women, and thus people would not take you very seriously anymore. If you dress like a man, then people might take you more seriously and actually listen to you because you look "professional" & "masculine" & "dominant." However, I still don't understand what is so wrong with me wearing purple dress pants with a bow belt and a black sweater to this job fair, but I think that if I did then I would not be taken very seriously because I would look feminine and "weak/submissive." Thus, I shall buy and wear a pant suit to this job fair, but I'm not happy about it and I do not plan on having a job that requires me to wear one everyday. I should be free as a women, and as a person, to express myself with my clothing however I choose. And I choose colored dress pants or a dress with a cardigan!
This is definitely an issue must suffer from. I used to think my issue with the pant suit requirement is the inability to express myself through clothing I like and feel comfortable in while in the majority of workforce realms, but it simply comes down to I don't want to be confined to these options. You would figure that your abilities trump your appearances, but in reality, you have to sell the look first in order to even be considered. Despite women and men expected to present themselves to work in this uniform pant suit, women still need to worry about how they'll display their femininity at the same time (hairstyle, makeup, etc.). Women should be able to confidently say "I did a kick ass job today at work all while wearing this dress that represents who I am." Good luck and I hope you make the pant suit work for you!
ReplyDeleteI work in the Career Center and fill out the newsletter that lists job opportunities and conferences. When I read the description of the "How To Work A Job Fair" Workshop and the actual job fair information I was shocked by the pant suit requirement, as well. In Sociology of Gender last semester, for my group's oral final exam we picked the topic of females as president. We focused a lot on Hillary Clinton and her role in politics. In doing so, we noticed she often follows this criteria. She tends to wear neutral colored pant suits and a skirt every now and again. We analyzed this by saying she chose to wear the pant suit. She was not required. While this was an option, it was a strategic choice on her part. By wearing a "masculine" piece of clothing, she allowed herself to appear more masculine in the eyes of other politicians and the public. Since we have never had a female president, she took this route to connect herself with the masculine identity of the president rather than focusing on her feminine qualities -- much like some of the feminist topics we talked about in class on Wednesday. Instead of making use of her feminine/nature qualities, she attached herself to the masculine/cultural qualities in a pant suit.
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