After a London woman launched a petition requesting that the U.K. government make it illegal for companies to require women to wear high heels to work, she's receiving an outpouring of support from women online. They're posting photos of themselves wearing flats to work.
The campaign was started by the Fawcett Society and has since received the support from British politician Stella Creasy, among many others.
Nicola Thorp was hired to work as a temporary receptionist for finance consulting company, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in London, after being employed by outsourcing firm Portico. But when she showed up to work on her first day she was instructed by Portico to wear two- to four-inch heels or go home, the BBC reported.
Thorp spoke out about the incident on Facebook before launching the petition, which topped 100,000 signatures on Friday. The support means that Parliament must now consider it for a debate.
After Thorp's story made international headlines, PwC said in a statement that it asked Portico to review its uniform policy. Later that day, PWC said in an updated statement that Portico had updated its policy "with immediate effect."
In the U.S., a company can enforce a dress code, but it must apply to "all employees or employees within certain job categories," according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
