Woman shocked after male boss asks her to shave her legs

A young woman has shared online the uncomfortable moment her male manager made an inappropriate request. Photo / Getty Images

A young woman has shared online the shocking moment her male manager asked her to shave her legs.

The anonymous woman, 21, wrote on Reddit that her boss pulled her aside and told her hairy legs were "against company policy" and posed a "hygiene issue".

She wrote that she "was not a hairy person at all" and felt shaving was an unnecessary expense and a waste of time.

Reddit users were quick to react, with commenters labelling the woman's boss "sexist" and "misogynistic".

She continued to share information about herself, including that she considered herself "... very feminine, and I just don't like to waste my time or money on shaving my legs.

"Also I'm not a hairy person at all! You can barely see my leg hair, arm hair or even my God damn eyebrows."

Detailing the incident she wrote: "So I work for a promotion company where I travel and work at events and festivals.

"But today I had to go into the office to grab some materials and my boss was there in his office so I stopped to say hi before I left."

It was here that he stopped her and asked if she had time to chat.

She wrote: "He was so red and stuttering but finally he told me we needed to speak about hygiene.

"I was in literal shock. I was so embarrassed and asked him what he meant.

"My boss then proceeded to tell me that a few people complained I didn't shave my legs and they said it went against company policy that I wasn't being hygienic."

Gobsmacked, she said: "I told him I didn't understand what that had to do with me shaving my legs and he was just absolutely quiet.

"I asked him if he shaved his legs and he still said nothing. I then stood up and said if we were gonna keep talking about this I'd prefer HR [human resources] to be there and he just told me that we didn't need to discuss it any further."

However, she shared that soon after she received a meeting invite with HR for the following week, which sent her into a panic.

Reddit users couldn't believe the story.

"This is some sexist bulls***," one wrote. "Wow. Absolutely ridiculous. Would they ask a male employee to shave his legs? How is it unhygienic for you but not for any man who has leg hair? I'm honestly aghast."

Another said: "His 'Company Policy' sounds misogynistic, unless if it states that the men in the company should also shave their legs. Try to search where in the policy does it state about hygiene to clear things up, and bring that up to HR on your meeting."

Another wrote: "This is such an insult to pretend this has anything to do with 'hygiene'."