High heels on a building site?

And then she looked into the eyes of the building site manager, in fact deeper, reading his thoughts, and realised that she had lost the chance not only for entering the building site but also for any further discussion... “They can let in who they want, wearing what they want and where they want. I don’t care!” he shouted, losing his temper. He stood up. She knew there was no point in negotiating but concluded that it was worth putting her foot down at least a little to throw the enraged individual off balance even more – even though he seemed to have completely lost his poise already. She decided that she would find where his limit was... just for fun, after all she had already lost half a day anyway. And her antagonist? He could not do anything to her in front of the entire group and a few dozen subordinates. “I will take care of this. A safety helmet and a vest will do,” said a voice from another section of the office. It was the deputy manager. “This woman will not enter and that is it!” his superior retorted, within earshot of everyone in the office as well as those downstairs and throughout the entire building site. And then the negotiations started. No – in fact, a fight broke out. “You need to wear trousers!” commanded the building site manager in a loud voice, in the presence of several dozen construction workers, because the action had now moved from the office to the building site, between the concrete mixer and some containers. “That’s impossible. I never wear trousers,” she stated firmly – a declaration the manager’s subordinates sympathised with. He did not. All work on the construction site screeched to a halt and a pregnant silence ensued. Okay, she thought, at least someone will take pity on me... “This is clear discrimination!” she added, to fuel to the flames. What was the difference between the building site manager’s trousers made from light material and her shiny stockings? There is no difference in terms of safety. And after all, it was supposed to be all about safety. “All the rules are listed in the occupational health and safety regulations!” she was then abruptly informed. Not knowing what these were, she was still almost certain that they did not include either the words stockings or skirt... In fact, in her experience you were always enter building sites, but admittedly in a safety helmet. She never thought of putting on jeans. And didn’t have to learn this from walking around countless building sites across the country! Nobody had ever made the slightest remark about her outfit. Unless it was a compliment...

“You will not pass. There’s no point arguing! Besides... the outfit is one thing, but the shoes are also important!” – was what she heard just as she was about to leave and finish this interesting discussion... “My shoes? What’s wrong with them?” – she pointed at her favourite moccasins made of beautiful, solid, beige leather, by quite a well-known Polish company pretending to be an expensive foreign brand. “What do you mean what is wrong? The sole!” “The sole?” she repeated, appalled. Clearly offended, she took the shoe off her slender foot, which has been admired by many artists and non-artists, and handed it over to the manager. “Can you please give me your shoe for comparison,” she said with a clear hint of triumph in her voice. She knew that she had won that round. She was sure of her soles – really well-made, thick and simply indestructible. Not just that. The shoes were not even high heels! High heels on a building site? Never! That should be obvious! The building site manager looked down, avoiding the looks of the other employees who were waiting for his next move. And not just to look at his light brogues with a thin rubber sole: by lowering his head he showed that he knew she was right. But he could not let her win. That would mean the end of his career. At least on that building site. So she turned around on her heel. Goodbye... she said as a parting shot. She took her phone out of her bag to call an acquaintance, who was a little more experienced in walking around building sites. When she finished her story, there was silence from the receiver. Then she heard: “Come on, he couldn’t have let you in! First, the construction work would have to stop at the floor you would be visiting, and then nobody would be able to work until the end of the day...” A developer cannot afford such delays to the schedule. And so it turned out that one dress might indeed have influenced the share price of a certain company listed on European stock exchanges.