Business Etiquette
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Gender Gap
March 05, 2008
On Monday afternoon, shortly after I landed in Houston, I turned on my BlackBerry and began to record notes from all of the voice-mail messages that had arrived during my two-hour flight. Among the messages I had received was one from a freelancer, who is in the process of drafting an article for More magazine, a periodical with a target audience of women aged 40-60.
“We want to do a ‘point/counterpoint’ piece,” the writer explained to me, “focusing on the unique perspectives women of different generations bring to the workplace.” Without hesitation, I suggested one easily observable difference: pantyhose.
Women “of a certain age,” especially those who work in more conservative professions, wear hosiery to the office, I explained. When these women entered the workplace, hosiery was part of the “dress for success” formula that they learned and adhered to early. Yet, when I have suggested to newer professional women that they at least store a package of “just in case” hosiery in their offices, on more than one occasion a young woman has looked at me incredulously and informed, “I’ve never worn hosiery. In fact, I don’t own a single pair.”
How will women of different generations bridge this difference? As with other generational gaps, I suspect women professionals will negotiate solutions that go beyond “either/or,” i.e., beyond women are expected to wear hosiery or they are not. Instead, whether or not a professional woman is expected to don hosiery will become much more situational—if a professional woman is moving from one inner office meeting to another inner office meeting, hosiery may be optional. Wearing hosiery may be expected, however, when that same woman professional attends a client meeting or a prospect pitch.
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