(Jamaica Gleaner) Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives Philip Paulwell said on Tuesday that Parliament was conceived with a bias against women.
Paulwell was contributing to a motion brought by Everald Warmington for the House to establish a uniformed dress code and cease relying on the dictates of Erskine May’s Parliamentary Practice.
In supporting the motion, Paulwell said he would stay away from suggesting appropriate dress code for women attending the House and committees.
“I am particularly concerned about us delving too much into that area because I think the Parliament was unfairly established as a male chamber,” Paulwell said.
He suggested that at the Standing Orders Committee, the female members should be enabled to make a decision on a dress code for women, “and we as men should accept it without question”.
Warmington, who represents South West St Catherine, said the Standing Orders Committee of the House should move to establish a dress code for Parliament. He said members of the media, as well as visitors to the House, should be subject to the same code.
“The standard has fallen to a very low level, where people walk into this House in anything they want.”
“I have seen some situations here where people are in jeans and T-shirts in the gallery here. The only thing I don’t see them in is body blouse. Some of the things they wear in the gallery is totally unacceptable.
“You look in the press gallery at times, they are in some loose shirts that I can’t wear down there. I have seen T-shirts and jeans, which is not appropriate. If I am to wear, as it says here in the May’s, jacket and tie, I believe anybody else coming inside in the House, whether in the visitors’ gallery or press gallery, ought to be dressed in like fashion.”
But it was not only the way visitors to the House dress that Warmington was peeved about.
“Sometimes, not because the particularly outfit is expensive, it might be inappropriate,” he said.
Wamington said May’s said nothing about the dress code of female members.
“I guess it was a male-oriented Parliament whereby they only cater for males in the British Parliament. We have a lot of females who sit in the House and their dress code should also be recognised,” Warmington said.
