A stiletto to the heart of sexist bosses

You must wear shoes with heels 5-10cm high at all times when you are at work. You must wear make-up and regularly re-apply it. You must wear tights, but not opaque ones.

Those were some of the rules in a dress code imposed by a British recruitment agency on its female workers before one of them, Nicola Thorp, refused to wear high heels one morning and was sent home without pay.

After Thorp, 27, started a petition against compulsory high heels on parliament's website that garnered 152420 signatures, her rebellion became a national talking point and led to an inquiry by lawmakers into workplace dress codes in Britain.

They reported yesterday that sexist dress codes were rife in some industries - such as hotels, retail and travel - and called on the government to take urgent action.