You could call it sexist: a recent study shows that female managers who flaunt their sexiness in the workplace evoke negative emotions and perceptions of lesser competence. Pretty chicks don’t click, says the popular press. Appearance manipulation harms women in high, but not low, status jobs, says Peter Glick, who has done the study along with Sadie Larsen, Cathryn Johnson and Heather Branstiter.

Glick is Professor of Psychology at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. His study appears in the Psychology of Women Quarterly. In India, though, the debate is of a different, and infantile, kind. Here, according to our antediluvian politicians, sexiness in a woman’s attire doesn’t mean she is dumb. It signals that she is available.

“In the workplace, it is still very necessary that women dress down,” says Mumbai-based HR consultant D. Singh. “Even at the interview stage, we recommend a sober attire. A handsome Rebecca Mark (of Enron fame) can come to India and wow a hundred CEOs. But not one of them would take her on their rolls, save as a receptionist.” (Incidentally, the study says that sexiness is perfectly okay ? even preferred ? in low-status jobs like that of a receptionist.)

One way to signal how much “sexiness” is acceptable in the workplace is through a dress code. Some companies have uniforms. In Maruti, everyone looks like a Maruti ? drab grey exterior, unglamorous and indistinguishable from the next. There are others. Writes S.A.R. Acharya, chief knowledge officer at C&K Management Ltd: “At Bharat Electronics, everyone from the bus driver to the managing director wears the same beige and brown uniform. The sea that erupts during work-breaks is one of such monotonous visual impact that the casual observer is immediately transported to some desert during a sandstorm. People get bored seeing the same thing, and psychology begins to insert their ennui into the quality of work output.”

At the other end of the spectrum are new generation companies such as the dotcom survivors and the recent BPO outfits. At Silicon Valley, this was described as the “bring your dog to work” culture. It came to India too. But today companies are sobering up. At the Bangalore-based Trilogy E-Business Software, one day of the week is a formal-wear day; you need to shed your jeans and sneakers. Companies such as Infosys also vary their routine, partly to reduce boredom and partly to ensure that their employees can comport themselves formally when they need to.

What does Corporate India think about a dress code? According to a survey conducted by NFO MBL India in companies such as Maruti, Oberoi Hotels, Sony India and Apollo Tyres, uniformity has no appeal. Some 84 per cent of HR managers and 60 per cent of employees rejected the idea of a dress code.

At the Bank of Baroda, they tried to issue a dress code for its officers and award staff three years ago. No grand three-piece suit this; the bank was planning to supply free ties ? navy blue for officers and maroon for clerks. The unions vetoed the idea. What would women wear, they asked. Besides, in Kerala, would a blue tie and a lungi be an appropriate combination?

A blue tie and lungi may seem far away from women and sexiness in the workplace. “But it is all part of the same mosaic,” says Singh. “As we go along, dress codes will become more casual. But you will have to define the line yourself and see that you don't cross it.” Says SitaGita.com, ‘a portal for the new age woman’: “Casual dress codes don’t mean you can look like something the cat dragged in.”

THE INFOSYS PRESCRIPTION

Mondays and Tuesdays

For Gentlemen: Full-sleeved shirts, formal trousers, formal leather shoes and ties. Jackets not required.

For Ladies: Appropriate formals. Jackets not required.

Wednesdays and Thursdays

For Gentlemen: Half-sleeved formal shirts, but formal trousers and formal shoes are a must.

For Ladies: The Monday Dress code continues for ladies.

Fridays

Infoscions may opt to wear jeans, T-shirts and sports shoes. Slippers and sandals are strictly prohibited.

Source: Infosys