Conservative dress part two: the racial minorities' quandary
The Philadelphia Eagles Radio Network was sued by a former salesman, and lost, because the Network hands out copies of John Molloy's book New Dress for Success to its employees, suggesting how they ought to dress. An Associated Press report says the book advises readers not to wear Afros or African-style clothing. That the book advises readers to dress conservatively is not in doubt. Most reviewers don't even doubt that the book is at times out of date -- there are many reviews at amazon.com mentioning this. But this book is used by many, many human resources people as THE guideline for dress for interviews, sales, and (sometimes) even in the office. And what is interesting about this particular case is that multiple opinions racial minorities hold about this issue are being played off against one another -- and most of us don't know it's happening.
Consider this excerpt from an article Calvin Bruce wrote in the Black Collegian, which was reprinted in the online Wall Street Journal:
Many African-American collegians face a quandary when deciding how ethnocentric their personal wardrobe and image should be. But, a good school of thought is that ambitious, young minorities should emulate the advice of widely read author John Molloy. Mincing no words, his specific advice to minorities is to blend in with their corporate surroundings and forego ethnocentric individuality in favor of adopting the standardized corporate look that has passed the test of time, regardless of industry or profession. In a word, this is the "navy pinstripe and beige overcoat" image that has defined generations of career-minded professionals. In short, you should certainly be yourself, but by all means fit in where you want to launch your career as a budding professional. The rest will take care of itself.Are guys like Bruce fueling discrimination lawsuits by buying into Molloy's advice? Stay tuned.
Labels: character
posted by Ron @ 11:24 AM
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