When Bias Is Systemic- Men, Women and Shoes

In footwear, we’ve found that men’s shoes are made to last and provide maximum comfort. This doesn’t start at the manufacturing stage, but involves all players working together to make this possible - from the leather to the designers to the sole manufacturers. As we come to the end of #IWD month, we want to address this issue...Why is it that women have to wear uncomfortable shoes like heels in board spaces, while men get to wear leather oxfords, boots, and derby shoes?

So, you will say, “you are a women-led and owned brand, why don’t you just start manufacturing comfier shoes for women?” And you are absolutely right—why shouldn’t we? Let us start from the obvious: when you see a photo of a “business woman/CEO,” you will notice she is wearing some uncomfortable-looking heels with a suit or something like that. Even how we portray powerful women is problematic... and this is not just on brands, the perfect picture of a successful woman is a full of face beat, power suit and heels.

When we were watching BILLIONS'' at the office and how the whole team discussed how revolutionary it was that women were shown on the show with flats. Even though producers have allowed women to be more comfortable, Wendy is still being held hostage when it comes to shoes. Our CEO has been insisting that the most important thing for productivity is comfortable shoes, and we’ve been trying to make this a norm, but it hasn’t been easy. The women we’ve made shoes for are obsessed with us.

One time, a lady ordered a pair of SHIRO flats and called back after a day in them to order 10 more pairs. She realized she had gone through the day without thinking about her feet for the first time in her adult life. She only realized she still had her shoes on in the house when her teen daughter shouted at her to take off her shoes. Comfort should not be privilege's.

As we come to an end of this month, let us think about this and try find ways to forge forward.

MUSE @jody_tsomething

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