What’s Theresa May’s Shoes Got to Do with Politics or Leadership?

Whether we like her or not, or whatever our political persuasion, Theresa May becoming the second ever female Prime Minister in the UK, sends a positive message to aspiring women across the nation.

However, amongst the many headlines announcing and celebrating Theresa’s success on getting what is probably one of the most challenging jobs in the country, there are pockets of the media that seem more concerned about the shoes that she wears.  This is despite her political success to date and despite her being the longest serving Home Secretary in 50 years, adding kudos to her ability and credibility to do the role.

Does the focus on her shoes somehow detract from her role as a leader?  I believe that in some ways it does. To me the message that this sends out, signifies the conscious and unconscious bias towards women leaders that still exists today.  This is despite the progress made so far to achieve gender parity in the boardroom.

This doesn’t just happen to Theresa May

It is not just Theresa that this happens to.  Any woman in the public eye or who is in pursuit of shattering the glass ceiling can be subjected to such treatment.  Whilst it may often be done in a subtle way or done to add a bit of humour, I personally do not find it very amusing.  After all, would a man be subject to this sort of focus too?

Why are women subjected to such scrutiny about their physical looks and appearance, whereas for men, it is their talent and ability (or lack of) to do the role that is focused on?

  Is it that the role of Prime Minister is seen to many as a masculine role and that by focusing on Theresa May’s feminine shoes, it will validate the gender bias that women are not suitable for what have traditionally been seen as masculine jobs?

Let’s dig deeper

Digging deeper as to why this happens, it would appear that we are wired in a way that a woman’s physical attractiveness signals her ability to reproduce.  Which, in primitive times was necessary for the continuation of the human race.

However, we are not living in primitive times. We are more aware and we are more highly educated.  And those in the media outlets focusing on Theresa May’s shoes are not in pursuit of their mate as they report on the latest political story.

Is it that the role of Prime Minister is seen to many as a masculine role and that by focusing on Theresa May’s feminine shoes, it will validate the gender bias that women are not suitable for masculine jobs? And if this is so, is it being done as a conscious or unconscious ploy?

I think it is great that Theresa May is confident to rock her femininity in a male dominated profession and express it through her style. It signifies that women can be powerful leaders and don’t have to dress in female versions of what the men wear as could be said for the Thatcher era.

She was deemed to be the best person for the role

It is Theresa’s track record that deemed her the best person for the role, beating male and female colleagues by afar.  And that is how it should be.  Leaders should be appointed based on their capability to do a role, regardless of what gender they are.  In an ideal world this is how it would be across the board, with no need for quotas or targets.  Women and men rising to the top of their profession because they are the best candidate for the role.

With a constant focus placed on a woman’s attire, does it feed into the bias that still exists towards women leaders?  Does it send out a subtle message that detracts from a woman’s capability as a leader by putting such emphasis on her appearance?  Does this then in the mind of the observer, mean the woman is viewed as being less of a leader?

We’ve still got a long way to go

Although we’ve come a long way towards gender equality, this media focus on Theresa May’s shoes shows we’ve still got a long, long way to go.  Whilst sending the entire population on unconscious bias training may be nigh on impossible, calling it out as and when situations like this happen, presenting information in a way that helps individuals stop and reflect, may go some way to making individuals aware of the personal biases that they hold.

What goes through your mind when seeing so much emphasis on the new Prime Minister’s shoes?  Is it a bit of gentle humour, or is it a reflection that a deeper, underlying bias towards women still very much exists today?

ABOUT ME:

I am The Coach for High Achieving Introverted Women, a Writer, Speaker, UK top 50 Business Adviser and the founder of Abounding Solutions. I help introverted women to be authentic, bold, confident leaders  and excel in their careers and businesses. I also help organisations develop the talent pipeline of female employees so that more women make it to senior management roles.

I write here on LinkedIn, on my website and on Huffington Post on subjects to help women achieve optimal potential in their careers and businesses.

Are you a high achieving introverted woman? A woman striving to be the best that you can be.  A woman who wants to be a sphere of influence and be an authentic, bold, confident leader, excelling in your career or business.  Do you want to make a difference and a positive impact in your respective field or community? Do you want to do this AND be true to who you are, whilst living a meaningful, purposeful, balanced life?  If this is you and you're not part of the community, come on over and join the conversation here.

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