Dear Bob ... Some thoughts about the dress code letter from Separate But Unequal. He is 10000% right. In past jobs, women get away with so much more dress variations. For example, if a man even takes his shoes off in an office, he id derided. A woman can wear all sorts of footwear and walk around barefoot in many offices. Let alone the variety, color and style to reflect weather conditions. As far as modesty is Dear Bob …Some thoughts about the dress code letter from Separate But Unequal.He is 10000% right. In past jobs, women get away with so much more dress variations. For example, if a man even takes his shoes off in an office, he id derided. A woman can wear all sorts of footwear and walk around barefoot in many offices.Let alone the variety, color and style to reflect weather conditions.As far as modesty is concerned, forget it. Now I am sensitive to footwear, having incredibly flat feet and bad ankles to boot. Leather shoes, now matter how comfortable, hurt me. No I get away with black sneaker-shoes, but in a job where I climb on desks and go under cabinets, leather shoes are not a necessity.– FootsoreDear Footsore … There’s a different between his being right and the issue being important. Unless we as a society want to eradicate all indications that men and women are different, we’re going to have to accept that when it comes to physical appearance there are limits to the extent we can define rules that apply identically to Homo sapiens’ two major genders.For example: In most workplaces, for most women, a bra is required. The bra itself isn’t visible, but the effects of its absence are generally pretty obvious, and inappropriate in a professional situation. Women could, but generally don’t, complain that they must wear bras while men don’t.For many years (and I imagine there are still some companies where it remains true today), business formal for women meant a dress and jacket or a skirt, blouse and jacket. A dress or skirt means exposed legs, which means the women must wear nylons – something I’m told is quite uncomfortable, although I lack experience with them myself. Men have never been required to wear a dress or skirt, or told pants are inappropriate. Then there’s the issue of makeup.Men and women are different. It’s a fact. We don’t live in a unisex society, nor do most of us want to. We need to create an environment where professional status and opportunity are gender neutral, not where gender is invisible.Should you, with your flat feet and bad ankles, be allowed to wear sneakers or something else that’s more podiatrically sound? I’d hazard a guess that the Americans with Disabilities Act would make that mandatory for your employer as a form of reasonable accommodation, even if your employer enforced the strictest of dress code policies. But should you expend much of your emotional energy worrying about who has the better deal? I’d say no. Every bit of research I’ve seen says that when you add it all up, women still experience more disadvantages than men in the workplace. If they have a few more privileges when it comes to apparel, the disadvantages they face when it comes to less important matters like compensation and promotability more than make up for them.That, at least, is how I look at the subject.– Bob PS to readers: While I don’t mind receiving as much correspondence on this subject as you feel like sending, some of you might want more coverage of other topics important to IT managers and professionals. If so, there’s a simple solution: Send me more questions about them! – Bob ——– Technology Industry