Women tweet flat-shoe photos in support of temp receptionist
The temp receptionist was sent home without pay for refusing to wear heels during her shift
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Your support makes all the difference.Dozens of women are sharing pictures of their flat work shoes to show support for a temp receptionist sent home from her job after refusing to wear high heels.
The Twitter hashtag, started by the Fawcett society - a charity campaigning for gender equality - on Friday, responded to an outcry over sexist work wear guidelines enforced by some employers.
Temp worker Nicola Thorp was told to change into high heels when she arrived for her first day at the London offices of accountancy firm PwC wearing flat shoes.
The 27-year-old was sent home without pay after being told she had to wear high heels with a height of two to four inches.
Ms Thorpe said she was shocked by the request telling BBC Radio London: “I said ‘If you can give me a reason as to why wearing flats would impair me to do my job today, then fair enough’, but they couldn’t."
She has since launched a petition calling for the law to be changed to stop employers from being able to insist that a woman wear high heels as part of their work. It has amassed more than 130,000 signatures of support.
PwC have stated that the dress code is not their policy but that of a third party recruitment firm Portico which they use to employ staff.
Outsourcing firm Portico said Ms Thorp had "signed the appearance guidelines" but would now review them.
Many PwC employees offered pictures to the #FawcettFlatsFriday campaign to attest that the dress code enforcing high heels is not upheld by the company.
Labour MP Stella Creasy and Women’s Equality party founder Catherine Mayor also posted pictures of their shoes, but mostly women (as well as some men) used the campaign to stress that whatever their shoe choice, it has no impact on how well they are able to carry out their jobs.
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