This Dad Just Proved A Sexist Double Standard Without Saying A Word

Well done. đź‘Ź
Provided by Mayor Richard Stewart

Last year, the mayor of a mid-size city in Canada wore the same suit for 15 months in a row. And nobody called him out on it ... until now.

The comment that ended Mayor Richard Stewart's spree was small; it was simply noting that his blue jacket didn't match his colleagues' gray jackets. But the fact that it took so long for anyone to notice proved a point that the mayor and father had hoped to make all along:

Women face an unfair -- and sexist -- double standard when it comes to appearance.

For 15 months starting in 2014, Mayor Stewart wore the same "plain, off-the-rack, boring, dark blue suit" to every council meeting and event, dry cleaning it occasionally and switching up the shirt and tie.

Facebook/Richard Stewart

Nobody made a comment. Stewart suspects that it's because he's a man, and people are used to judging women's appearances more than men's.

"It affects my daughters," Stewart told CTV News. "I want them to grow up knowing that their appearance has nothing to do with their success in a career. We as a society have to, every chance we get, recognize the barriers we put in place for a lot of folks."

We all know that women face different dress standards than men, but we've never seen it called out in this way before.

Well done, Mayor Stewart.

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