Totally agree. This makes me super sad. In what world does heels = professionalism? I own only one pair of heels and I have only worn them once. To a wedding. My own. I interviewed at OCI and throughout process and got multiple big law offers. I also interviewed in flats for inhouse jobs and got offered both jobs I interviewed for. For law firms offices, I think they vary, from pretty casual to more business attire, but in no world would heels be required.

I have had problems with my feet since I was born (club feet, multiple surgeries). Heels, unless less than 1 inch and mega comfortable, are out (and hard to find). Flats often don’t have the ankle support I need. What is another good option.

Can I just wear professional looking shoes, like Josef Seibel or something? Just black and polished looking, but an actual comfortable shoe? Or does that look unprofessional as well?

What you are unaware of, dear commentators, is that what your mind is really saying is “flats are not sexy”.

Women are required to be “sexy” in order to be considered “valuable” and “presentable to clients”. Though, instead of just saying “sexy”, we’ve all unknowingly agreed to refer to it as “professional”.

Don’t believe me? Read your own descriptions again. Children, the elderly, and “extremely” pregnant women are not ever thought of, nor expected to be “sexy”. They get a free pass.

And if you rock the boat, you”ll be labeled an unreasonable feminist or…. a lesbian.

Also, I don’t notice the person’s shoes if I’m interviewing them, unless they are hobbling or they are flashy (sandal/strappy/rhinestones..). So if you don’t hobble or have flashy shoes, I won’t notice – you could be wearing flats, you could be wearing heels. And even if I notice it’s not like it’s a deal breaker. I won’t, for instance, think to myself, “wow I really like this candidate, but gosh she has bad taste in shoes so no callback/offer!”