Men and women wear different things, that's expected. But in the office, these expectations turn into requirements. During my internship in a conservative industry, I realized how unfair these differences were for women.
For men, the outfit is straight forward. Its a suit and tie. Women its a bit more murky. There's a bit more freedom, in the sense that we get to choose between pants and skirts, yet that means there is often more control. Limits on necklines, lengths of skirts, types of shoes, etc. Also, there are times when employers may choose to take away those options, like during my summer internship where all female employees could only wear skirts and dresses, no pants.
There's also the issue of how these different expectations affect women. While men can wear the same or similar suits, women are expected to wear different outfits consistently. This leads to a much more expensive professional wardrobe for women. Most of my first few paychecks went to buying more clothes so that I could meet those expectations.
Women's clothes are absolutely more uncomfortable as well. Let's take a look at the pencil skirt. It's constricting - it makes it more difficult to walk, forces us to sit in certain ways, and is overall just a hassle to deal with. Let's not forget the fact as well that offices are often incredibly cold. In my case, I had to wear tights over the summer because it was always so cold in the office!
Lastly, there's the uncomfortable fact of sexualization. Men's professional clothes are flattering, but no one would call it sexy. Women's on the other hand are sexual. Pencil skirts hug our curves, show our legs, and force us to walk in a "feminine" manner. And there's no alternative to the pencil skirt aside from pants (which of course I couldn't wear).
I understand men's complaints about their professional clothes. But the grass is certainly not greener on this side, in fact, it might be worse.
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