'Inherently linked to gender' | Calling a female colleague 'frumpy' is sex discrimination, judge rules

Saying a woman looks “frumpy” in the workplace amounts to sex discrimination, an employment judge has ruled.

The ruling came in the case of Yuanyuan Zhang, a senior manager at an investment firm, who said she had been “humiliated” after her boss described her choice of outfit as looking like a “frumpy grandma”.

The derogatory term is used to describe someone’s appearance, most often their clothing, as old-fashioned, dull and/or unattractive. In the vast majority of instances, the word is aimed at women.

Ms Zhang’s lawsuit was ultimately dismissed due to the length of time between the incident and her decision to launch legal proceedings, but the employment tribunal nevertheless concluded that ”such a comment was unwanted conduct related to sex.”