All across Europe temperatures are soaring and people are struggling to manage their everyday tasks with the scorching heat. With temperatures in France rising to heights way above 30C people have been searching for the best clothing to keep cool.
Drivers working for Semitan, a bus and tram network, approached their bosses asking them for permission to switch out their standard uniform of trousers for any variation of shorts, however, the request was refused.
To make matters worse, not only were these men banned from wearing shorts, but the option to wear a skirt was part of the companies dress code for women. Male drivers were given no other option but to protest the forbiddance of shorts by adhering to the dress code. This meant skirts, and half a dozen of them.
If anything, shorts are much more practical for the workplace than skirts as they give the wearer more freedom of movement and there is much less chance of indecency. However, managers of the network argue that 'shorts are not suitable for [their] profession.'
In an interview with Presse Ocean, driver Didier Sauvetre describes how they have 'opted for provocation by coming in skirts' in order to tackle the ludicrous double standard.
The hot weather is 'unbearable in trousers' as buses do not have air conditioning. This change in apparel was an arguably essential appeal as warm weather has an impact on concentration. As it takes lots of energy to cool our bodies down, in warmer temperatures we are more likely to exhaust our supply and negatively impact our mental processes. This means that our ability to concentrate and make decisions deplete in the heat.
In 2013, there was a similar occurrence in Swedenwhere train drivers wore skirts to keep cool. Drivers in the city of Stockholm were also forbidden to wear shorts although the dress code stated that skirts were acceptable.
Image courtesy of Presse Ocean
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.