Its 2023 and lawmakers are somehow still focused on dress codes for women

On Wednesday, the Missouri State Legislature began debating House rules for the upcoming session. Republicans’ first priority? A stricter dress code for women legislators. 

Republican state representative Ann Kelley proposed requiring women legislators to wear jackets on the House floor, arguing that it is “essential to always maintain a formal and professional atmosphere.”

There was no proposal to update the legislature’s dress code for men, which requires a “coat, tie, dress trousers, and dress shoes or boots.”

Democrats objected to the proposal. Republican state representative Brenda Shields offered an amendment—which was eventually enacted—to allow cardigans to count as jackets. 

If the knit-picking sounds ridiculous or distracting, that’s because it is. 

Women historically face a double standard when it comes to professional dress codes. The issue with these rules—in any workplace—is that they are so often unfairly enforced, thereby reinforcing harmful biases. 

“Many industries continue to push wardrobe rules that largely tie back to the norms of homogenous white male-led leadership teams, and that appearance-based bias still runs rampant,” argued Ritu Bhasin, founder and CEO of Bhasin Consulting in a piece for Fast Company.

Bhasin says that’s why we should move away from strict—and gendered—dress codes. “Many of us don’t want to feel pressured to put on makeup, wear a dress or blazer, or suppress our authenticity,” Bhasin writes. “We want the freedom and flexibility to dress in ways that better reflect who we are—which is fundamental for cultivating inclusion, equity, high morale, and productivity at work.”

In many of today’s workplaces, those who don’t conform still pay a price. “When women fail to live up to American feminine beauty standards, there are measurable consequences for their careers,” writes Leilani Carver-Madalon, associate professor of strategic communication and leadership at Maryville University, in an article for Fast Company. For instance, Cornell University researchers have found that when the average white woman gains 64 pounds, her wages drop by 9%. 

Meanwhile, researchers have also found that businesswomen who are considered attractive are seen as less trustworthy, less truthful, and more worthy of being fired than less attractive women. These standards can be impossible to navigate, and the challenges they pose can be even greater for Black women and gender-nonconforming workers. 

Whether it’s in the workplace or on the legislative floor, these kinds of rule-making and policing can negatively impact historically marginalized people, alienate younger generations—and, perhaps most obviously—distract from more important issues at hand.