212 Speaking of Microsoft

Have you seen that full page newspaper ad from Microsoft? "Great Moments at Work." There are people on the main floor running, shouting, full of joy and celebration. People in the balcony are throwing paper and cheering.

Take a closer look. On the main floor, I assume, are the movers and shakers and decision makers. Eight women and twelve men. Two Asians, one Hispanic, and one black. No one is bald, no one is old. Standing behind them on the balcony are the support staff, the gofers, the clerical workers.

Now look at the clothing. Notice how well dressed the women are. They are. . .well, professionally, sensibly but attractively dressed. Only one of the eight women on the main floor is in pants--and it's a lovely suit. High heels, subtle, tasteful jewelry. Modest skirt length, even dresses, and good hair cuts.

Where do you find women dressed like this in the business world? At the model agency, that's where.

Since the start of the latest feminist movement around 1970, it has baffled me that women go to work dressed for sports or the bar date after work, and then wonder why they aren't taken seriously. I noticed it about 20 years ago when I went to a very large insurance agency that was an architectural client of my husband; I noticed it when I worked at the Ohio Department of Aging in the 1980s; I noticed it at Ohio State University at public meetings with Trustees and Faculty; I notice it in the newspapers when photos are published of the workplace.

It's still the case that a man wearing khaki slacks and a sport coat with an open collar shirt looks like he's more serious about business than a woman in expensive wool slacks and a silk blouse.