Frequently, female students are advised not to wear skirts at interviews, with the common wisdom that women will never be taken seriously if they look like...well...women.
I never saw women in skirts at grad school interviews, and I prefer pants anyways. Some of my students have come back from medical school interviews to report that everyone-- men and women-- were in matching black suits with muted colors of Oxford shirts.
Can women wear (nonfrumpy) skirts or dresses without being viewed as unprofessional?
(I suspect that many of you will be in support of hot shoes, but what about the rest of the outfit? And if you aren't familiar with Dr. Isis, click thee over there right away)
16 comments:
I wore skirts to my grad school interviews. For me, it was a matter of practicality -- I spent time during my undergraduate years interning for Congress, and in my office, women were expected to wear skirts and heels and my entire wardrobe consisted of skirts, dresses, and stilettos, so when I had 12 graduate student interviews, I just shopped from within my closet. I never once felt out of place or unprofessional.
Even now, for conferences, talks, poster competitions, data meetings, and committee meetings, I always opt for a skirt or dress in lieu of a suit or dress pants (I'm not entirely sure that I even own any well-fitting dress pants at the moment). And I have never felt out of place, unprofessional, or been the only female in a dress or skirt.
But, then again, perhaps my opinion is swayed from my experience outside of science, where women are expected to look like women. Personally, I think it is a load of shit that a female who looks like a female is automatically inferior and cannot possibly know as much or work as hard. I will work twice as long, three times as hard, and still climb on my hands and knees to fix the purification equipment in my skirt and 3" heels, thank you very much.
But wait.... on the flip side of that.... you were EXPECTED to wear skirts? Did that feel a little strange???
I guess I really don't like being told what to do or wear. I personally wear pants because I like them, plus I can then wear heels discreetly and then tower over most of my colleagues.
I think you can certainly wear skirts and look professional if the entire outfit is professional. If you look pulled together, you're going to be fine. That said, I live in a very laid-back place where people often wear shorts to the opera - I know, I know.
Where I am, it's a fairly common practice to wear a skirt, bare legs, and flip flops/birkenstocks/sandals - which looks ridiculous and unprofessional. It's really about making sure that people see you and not how you look within reason - even though we're a casual community, you aren't at the beach or the lake.
I have this conversation with students all. the. time. and I'm amazed at how resistant they are to wearing professional clothing. I don't tell them they have to wear a certain uniform, just that they need to be professional. Every semester this conversation is a firestorm. Every, single, time.
Go with whatever you feel most comfortable wearing. As long as you look professional and aren't showing too much leg it really doesn't matter.
When opting for skirts, e.g. in interview, I personally feel more comfortable in mid-calf length ones rather than shorter ones.
There was no formal rule that said that we HAD to wear skirts, but the press secretary set the standard for our office, and she wore pencil skirts and heels every day, so the rest of us followed. It's kind of the unofficial dress code for staff on the Hill anyway... but that said, if it was a day when a group of constituents were coming in, and I would be giving them a tour of the Capitol, rather than sitting in on a session or meeting with a lobbyist, I might opt for pants and flats, and it's not like I would be reprimanded for it.
I guess my take is that regardless of what you wear, someone, somewhere is going to judge you on it. In science, wearing dresses and makeup and accessorizing is often met with the opinion that you're too feminine and therefore not intelligent enough -- when one has absolutely nothing to do with the other. I wear dresses frequently; my PI will comment that dressing up for my proteins will not make them cooperate. I'm not dressing up for my proteins -- I don't wear a dress for anyone at all. I wear dresses because I like to wear them for myself. I have a bathroom overflowing with makeup and a closet stuffed to the max with heels, and this defines me as an unintelligent airhead so obviously I can never amount to anything as a scientist. Bullshit.
On the other hand, if you choose to wear pants in an environment where women mostly wear skirts, the behind-your-back comments are mostly directed at your sense of fashion, but not at your ability to actually do work. Wearing a skirt does not make you better at a job in the corporate world, the way that it seems to hinder your abilities in science.
So, that said, between the two options (which, whether we want to admit it or not, someone is always indirectly influencing what we wear -- as much as you say you don't like being told what to wear, right now you are asking for fashion advice), I'd take the previous situation I was in any day. Sure, I was "expected" to wear skirts most of the time, but I could wear pants on occasion, and at least I was able to both LOOK feminine AND be intelligent -- something which seems to be an oxymoron in science.
First of all, I just want to say that I think it is insane that we still have to worry about how we dress impacting how we are perceived. However, it does happen. I find that the more tailored you clothes are, be it skirt or pants, the more professional you will look. If I am going to wear a skirt, I try to pick something with structure.
What? You mean there's more to dressing up than just wearing shirts without holes in them?
yeah, us chicks have made a fuckton of progress in work clothes apparel... OY VEY.
Look polished. If you feel comfortable wearing a skirt, then wear a skirt. If you are not accustomed to wearing a skirt, then don't - your selfconsciousness will probably show. You need every ounce of confidence, don't give any away.
Last week, my student booked a grad school interview and a shitstorm erupted in the lab over what she should wear. So she brought in a BAG OF HER CLOTHES for us to go through!!!! The dudes just stood there wondering WTF. We moved the partay to the bathroom, which showed me how bad the carnage would have been, and instead, I loaned her 2 skirts and a few blouses. I gave her a coupon for JCP to buy shoes. dear lorddd.
Unfortunately, sexism is alive and well and the onus is on the women to overcompensate for the clues lacking in the men. I hope my student knocks it out of the park.
I've never been told not to wear s skirt, but I think length is important. If you couldn't wear it in lab due to safety rules, it might not be the wisest thing to wear.
I am with the comment about "if you feel comfortable in skirt, wear a skirt etc" That said, I would stay away from a very short one coupled with high heels.... even if that would work in other professional settings...
THen again, I am a tad bit scared of sticking out as such on an interview.... (but I did wear a skirt suit to my latest one, which went ok). I think it is harder if I can not wear stockings since I feel naked without them in a professional setting (or church for that matter)
But isn't a skirt supposed to be more conservative than pants? Given than years ago (but not so many years) women were never wearing pants?
interestingly, i wore a black skirt suit for my med school interviews with heels and black dress pants and a sweater with heels to my grad school interviews. the difference? med school interviews were in warmer weather.
i am more dressed down now due to my adviser's example, she favors pants and shirt or sweater. but i dress up, read heels and skirts or nice dress slacks, for conferences.
I have worn skirts/dresses for talks and conferences. It is not the norm in my field but dressing up makes me feel more confident and more serious, which helps me in the situation.
I may avoid skirts for interviews because I detest wearing hose/tights and bare legs would probably be considered unprofessional. Maybe?
hmmm...I'm late in commenting on this but in my field dress up, whether dress pants or a skirt, would not work for an interview. if I'm not wearing field pants (read carhardts) they won't take me seriously. Seriously. Once I'm known to them, maybe worked there a month or so, then I can wear whatever I want. But I would never wear anything feminine to give a presentation to my field of work because I've heard all the crack from the guys when some other woman did. And it wasn't about her talk. Sad, really.
It's interesting to see how times have changed. Not so many years ago, women were expected to wear skirts in the workplace to be taken seriously. Now it's going the other way - wear a skirt and you risk being seen as somehow light-weight.
IMHO being female is good, and anyone who judges me negatively on the basis of my gender doesn't deserve to have the benefit of my labor. Hence, for interviews and at work I wear skirts and dresses, accentuating and celebrating my gender.
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