- Governor Andrew Cuomo’s aides say there was an informal dress code for women in her office.
- A dozen young women told The New York Times that they felt pressured to wear dresses, heels and makeup near him.
- See more stories on the Insider business page.
A number of aides to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo say they have been given explicit orders or felt pressured to wear makeup and dress to please the governor and make professional progress.
Twelve women told The New York Times that there was a general understanding that they should wear high heels, dresses and makeup in Cuomo’s presence. More than a dozen women who worked for Cuomo told New York Magazine that the governor and his top advisers exerted strong pressure to dress well and in expensive clothes. Some said they were specifically instructed to use heels in the presence of the governor. Several current advisers and former advisers to the governor’s office told The Times that tall, thin, blond women were favored in the hiring process.
Another former aide named Kaitlin, who asked that her surname not be released, told New York Magazine that the governor would criticize her physical appearance if she came to work with wet hair or did not meet her standards. She said he would say to her, “Did you decide not to get dressed today?” or “Didn’t you put on makeup today?”
A former employee, Ana Liss, said an executive assistant to the governor told her, “When the governor is here, you need to look good.”
A current senior aide and two former employees told The Times that they believed they were passed over on certain professional opportunities because of the way they dressed. Three former officials said they should dress the way Cuomo wanted if they wanted special attention from the governor. Employees who dressed according to Cuomo’s code would sit at tables in front of his office in the Capitol building, the Times reported.
Cuomo’s office denied allegations about the informal dress code for women.
“Not now, nor has there ever been an expectation of wearing certain clothes or high heels,” Richard Azzopardi, a top aide, told The Times.
These allegations come at a time when the New York attorney general’s office is overseeing an investigation into several allegations of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual advances made against Cuomo by eight women, including former advisers. New York state lawmakers have launched an impeachment investigation and most Democratic congressmen in the state are calling for the governor’s resignation.
On Friday, the governor again denied any wrongdoing and refused to resign.
Peter Yacobellis, who was Cuomo’s deputy director of administrative services from 2011 to 2014, told The Times that there was “clearly a toxic environment for many women in the governor’s office” and no substantial training in sexual harassment.
“If you are a woman who wants to focus on work, this is the worst place to be,” New York state senator Alessandra Biaggi, who was Cuomo’s aide for seven months in 2017, told The Times. Biaggi openly criticizes the governor, whom she calls a “monster”, and asks him to resign.