Shipley shows support on 'Rankin Day'

2:45 pm

Opposition leader Jenny Shipley could only muster a one-inch-above-the-knee 'mini' in support of Christine Rankin day today.

But for a woman whose hems usually sit below the knee and beyond, it was a bold statement.

And there was no mistaking her big earrings.

"I completely respect Christine Rankin's right to dress the way she does and I have dressed this way today because I demand to dress the way that suits me," Mrs Shipley told Wellington's Evening Post newspaper today.

Mrs Shipley said Ms Rankin was selected to head Work and Income New Zealand (Winz) on merit and "no one raised how she looked" as any sort of job limitation.

"The Labour Government must be ashamed of itself that it is taking us back 20 years in its perceptions of women".

An e-mail, circulated around the country this week, urged women workers to wear short skirts and big earrings today to show solidarity with Mrs Rankin.

Headed "Women of the Workforce Unite," it encouraged them to "show the sexist men of this country we will not tolerate their oppression."

The e-mail said Mrs Rankin had exposed blatant sexism within the public service, and should not be left to stand alone.

The trademark style of the former Winz Boss – a short skirt and dangly earrings - has come under fire in the Employment Court in the last two weeks. Mrs Rankin is suing the Crown, alleging political interference in a decision not to renew her contract.

Women in Tauranga showed big is definitely better - dangly earrings were exposed all over town for 'Dangle Day'.

But not everyone in hitched up hemlines in support of Mrs Rankin. The cold conditions and neglected winter legs meant many women shunned the idea of wearing mini skirts.

Eleven women at a local Winz in Tauranga dug out their dangly earrings for today and even two men joined in the fun, donning big clip-ons.

The team at the Winz office said they dressed up because they personally believed women should be able to wear what they wanted and they were not poking fun at their former boss.

Winz Greerton case manager Julie Clark was the only team member brave enough to show off a short skirt, with the help of "extra heavy dark stockings".

"They (the others) say they haven't got the legs for it but they're all lying really,'' Ms Clark said.

Team coach John Westerman got his first taste of wearing dangly earrings when his wife dropped off a pair of clip-ons for him. He stopped short of putting on a skirt.

Mr Westerman said he was prepared to wear the earrings all day because he believed women should be free to dress how they wanted to and ``nobody should be judged on how they dress''.

He said the way Ms Rankin dressed did not affect the way she did her job.

In Hastings, District Council staff got into the Christine Rankin spirit sporting their shortest skirts and longest earrings.

Some at the council said they had dressed up to show their support for Mrs Rankin.

Others said they were not necessarily Rankin fans but were just having some fun.

One got especially clever, creating earrings that reached her shoulders, while another had a photo of Ms Rankin dangling from hers.

But the women of Winz in Napier did not dress to support their boss.

Her look would not meet the department's dress code, according to a spokesman.

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