Dang, who would have thought sexism would have gone as far as shoes?

In the UK, well-known shoe brand Clarks has been pushed to withdraw a school shoe for girls after accusations of everyday sexism, reports The Guardian.

It wasn’t the actual shoe that was the problem, but rather its name and the comparison to the equivalent version for boys.

The girls’ shoe is made of shiny black leather and has the added detail of a pink insole printed with hearts.

Take a look:

Cute, right?

Well, no. Not only is it called “Dolly Babe”, but the boys’ version is called “Leader” and has football detail:

Not ideal. How can they use the word ‘babe’ to sell a shoe to a schoolgirl?

Here’s how the uproar went down:

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, was among many who found the firm’s choice of design barely credible. “It is almost beyond belief that in 2017 a major company could think this is in any way acceptable. Shows what we are still up against,” she tweeted.

Politicians from all parties strode into the debate: Carolyn Harris, shadow minister for women and equality, described the designs as “blatant discrimination”; Sarah Ludford, a Liberal Democrat peer and shadow Brexit Minister, tweeted “So depressing”; Maria Miller, chair of the Commons women and equality select committee, said retailers had a responsibility not to reinforce stereotypes.

And Clarks’ response?

Clarks responded that it was removing the shoes, “an old and discontinued line”, from its stores.

Poor form. Do better.

[source:theguardian]