I may be stepping over some nice toes here but I felt like talking on the issue. Having experienced seven years of Corporate life in Karachi, I have always seen men dressing in an uptight suiting or at least a dress pant and proper tucked in shirt, shorts are not acceptable even on casual fridays. While women can dress as they like, skirts will also do, exposing some extra skin is very acceptable, even preferred by many. While I believe in personal space and freedom, this does not fall in the personal domain, it creates conflict in admirers minds, distracts him or her from the goals of the business and society blames them on what is followed.
This does not stop here, pretty news casters are equally to blame for inciting viewers, yes I notice them, I am a guy. Their job is to deliver news not modeling, we have models & actors for that. Many organizations prefer keeping such beauty in house, as it helps accomplishing stretched goals, especially in the sales function. On the other side many companies are just too scared on touching this sensitive topic, as it could label them as extremist, fundamentalist or even terrorist, a word coined to undermine others. Many organizations have gone out of their way to chalk down instructions in their manuals that limits individuals freedom in dressing, implementing that policy however is difficult task, you cannot ask a beautiful person wearing a low cut blouse to go cover it up-just too rude!.
The advent of sexual harassment laws have made this issue of an urgent nature, they are pushing victims of sexual harassment to report incidents to a special committee, which may result in prosecution, whether the committee realizes that the victim was also at fault is a question we would like answers for. But the issue is not of harassment, as offenders will be active even if proper dress code is followed. The implementers of the law are asking organization to train their employees in Sexual Harassment laws & how to report incidents, this presents a good opportunity to inform the participants on their own responsibility, on controlling the incidents, to wear decently. While my experience is limited to Karachi, the matter is of globally nature (I am talking about accomplishing corporate goals here). You can find several articles on corporate dress codes in the US, where it seems that they have risen to make clear policy guidelines & recommendations on corporate attire.
