are mini skirts appropriate for the office

I accept the terms of this debate, and will argue on the stance that mini-skirts are not appropriate in an office setting.

I would first like to start by defining 'appropriate':
adjective
əG2;pr!3;prē-it/
1.
suitable or proper in the circumstances.

With that being said, I am assuming that when you say 'in the office' we are referring to a business setting. In that case, the reason that there is usually a formal business dress code in the first place is to keep a professional image for the business, as well as increase productivity via reduction of non-business distractions. Regular skirts that go down to at least the knee area can be seen as formal business attire, as long as they're not flashy or provocative, and there are many industries that commonly use them as part of their dress code (flight attendants, waitresses, etc.). On the other side we have mini-skirts, which are not commonly seen as formal business wear, but rather as a casual attire, and are usually viewed as being provocative. It is due to this that they are not appropriate in a business setting.

I will also point out that my personal view of the topic is that they don't provide any distraction from work for me. However, in a business setting you almost always have a diverse range of people, and thus the dress code must be set so that it will cater to everyone and not adjust itself to persons on an individual basis.

There is also the viewpoint that allowing non-businesslike attire into a workplace, on top of providing a bad image for the business, can lead to increased cases of sexual harassment. This can lead to bad relationships between employees and lowered morale in the workplace.

In the end, it boils down to a matter of being appropriate vs. being acceptable. There are definitely places where less strict clothing regulations are perfectly acceptable, usually in smaller more casual settings, but in a general office/business setting the dress code needs to be a formal for the aforementioned reasons.

I would very much enjoy seeing your response to my side of the debate, please do not forfeit the next round.

It is unfortunate that you decided to forfeit the last two rounds, as I would have liked to hear a rebuttal from you against my argument, however I feel that we've both made our points and hopefully that is enough for everyone to base their votes off of. I look forward to the votes, best of luck to the Pro.