From Gumboots to dress code dilemma - my #2cents thoughts on how to truly embrace diversity

Gumboots, rainboots, wellies —call them what you want, they're all the same thing. But just like how different countries have different names for them, corporations have their own unique ways of handling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). One way to have a taste of a company’s culture is to observe how their people dress up to work. Trust me, it has a lot to tell.

Back in 2017, my colleagues and I at an Australian bank worked on this cool project called "Dress for your day." It basically gave our 50,000+ employees around the world the freedom to choose how they wanted to dress for work, as long as they were respectful of their colleagues, stakeholders, and dressed appropriately for the nature of the day's business activities. Sounds like a subtle change, right? Well, we chucked out the old dress code policy and replaced it with a two-page guidelines with some common-sense principles. It turned out to be quite transformative, culturally. Albeit some naysayers’ early concerns that the office will be flooded with PJs and flip-flops (or thongs for those from Aussie land). It wasn’t the case. There was mild debates around the floor but things sorted themselves out eventually. I think, it’s the power of trust in a nutshell. At the end of the day if you treat your employees as grown-ups, they will act like one.?

Fast forward to 2021, when I headed back home to Vietnam and took a gig as the Director of Corporate Culture at a local bank. One of the first tasks?landed on my plate was reviewing the dress code policy. Boy, oh boy, did it ruffle my feathers. It was a whopping 20+ page document dictating every little detail about what you can and can't wear. Ladies couldn't rock sleeveless dresses to work, and guys couldn't bling it up with fancy jewellery. They even had hard rules about how far your pants could hang over your ankles (max 5cm, to be exact) which made the job of the security guys a lot more "interesting” during morning’s peak hours. And believe it or not, there was a long list of the types of fabrics you could and could not wear to work. I was fuming, to say the least. But instead of?crossing everything out I took the time and had some chats with my colleagues, old and new, to figure out why this supposedly progressive bank still had these outdated rules. I kinda got it, though. They had given people some freedom before, but they felt like folks weren't showing enough "respect" in the office. So, they took a giant leap backward and brought back those old-fashioned rules. Back to the future, huh?

In 2022, I moved to the UK to pursue my Master's degree in Intercultural Business Communications. I was at first quite excited about the prospect that I could wear whatever I wanted to class. The teachers and classmates wouldn't judge me based on their idea of "respectful" attire, would they? It was a fashion free-for-all, and I loved it! You'd see people rocking three-piece suits one day and lounging in PJs the next. It was glorious.

But, oh boy, did I have a reality check. It happened when I decided to wear my trusty gumboots to uni on a rainy day in Guildford. I thought I was being smart, prepared for the wet and muddy walk. I even made sure to wipe them clean before entering class. Well, those two hours turned out to be uncomfortable as a bunch of guys couldn't stop staring at me (and my gumboots). As soon as class ended, they came over and said, "Hey, did you know it only rains for five minutes in the UK?" (It turned out they were wrong!) Then they giggled and strolled away. I tried to brush it off, but deep down, I felt pretty darn uncomfortable. As an extrovert myself, I couldn’t help sharing my experience to my classmates and another lecturer at the following class. It was a small and intimate class with about?8-10 of us that I felt comfortable with. Guess what? The response I got was as bland as day-old toast— "Well, gumboots are for farms only, aren’t they?” I’ve never felt that uncomfortable.

Reflecting on these experiences, here's some of my personal lessons:

- DEI comes in all shapes and sizes. There is no one-size-fit-all policy to really foster diversity, inclusion and belonging. A good policy is one that is reflective of their employees and their readiness (for change) and of course flexible enough to cater for the ever-changing workforce.?

- Embracing cultural differences is fantastic and inclusive policies are the necessary foundational steps. However, regardless of the good intent of the policy, it’s finally down to how people treat one another. No such policy can dictate that.

- But, Awareness does help. Sometimes, people aren't aware of the impact they have. Like the boys in my class or my lecturer. Creating a platform to make sure different perspectives?and stories shared, heard and understood is crucial in increasing awareness.

- Trust! It goes both ways. It sustains when it’s earned by both employees and employers. Take the time to hear everyone's stories, their quirks, their gripes. Only then can we create a truly inclusive workplace where everyone feels comfortable being themselves, valued and belonged.

Now go forth, my fashion-forward friend, and rock those gumboots like nobody's business!