Corporal Linda Okello (left) has been at the centre of public debate after this picture of her in a tight skirt at a KCB rally ran in a newspaper. FILE
There has been a heated discussion about the police officer whose photo in a tight skirt has been circulating on social media under the title “tight security”.
It was reported that the officer was summoned by her boss for dressing indecently. As a result a support group emerged on Facebook, which had more than 6,000 supporters by the last count.
In a discussion about dress codes, we concluded that police officers should dress in line with their specific code. But the code should apply to both men and women equally.
The police service issues uniforms to all employees. If one adds weight before the next distribution of uniform, their should be a way to issue new uniform.
The emerging dress code debate should remind all that appearance matters. In the past Market Talk has highlighted the concept of erotic capital. This was based on the book by Catherine Hakim titled, Honey Money, Why Attractiveness is the Key to Success.
According to this book there are various personal assets we can leverage on to succeed in business and life. There is the economic capital that is represented by money.
There is human capital, which is based on experience, education and other competences that are highly valued. There is social capital, which is the “who you know” a good reason why “you should know people”.
Hakim suggests erotic capital as a fourth personal asset that is normally ignored although there are regular reminders of its importance. It combines beauty, sex appeal, liveliness, good dress sense, charm and social skills.
Erotic capital is highly rewarded in entertainment and advertising industries but its value is not quite appreciated in other industries, like security.
Security companies are now being hired to manage some aspects of customer service such as welcoming guests. In such set ups, erotic capital would be a pleasant surprise to your guests, which would make security clearance process more palatable.
The policewoman’s dress sense should remind us of evidence suggesting that looking good can give you a double digit per cent advantage in accessing opportunities in life. This applies to both men and women, with some cases favouring men while others favour women.
Spending more time in the mirror, having a good stylist, hitting the gym and eating healthy have all been found to have positive impact on a person’s income level.
The policewoman scores highly in the fundamentals of personal branding. In the eight laws of personal branding, she scored a distinction. In visibility, she stands out from others in the force.
In leadership and creativity, she creatively uses the uniform to a good effect, which also applies to the laws on personality/style and standing out.
The law on specialisation states that you should be precise while concentrating your efforts on core strengths. There is one on unity where your private image should be consistent with the public one, some pictures taken at home suggests that this is true for this officer.
There is also the law of persistent which calls for you to constantly do the same thing until it becomes like a trade mark.
The last law is about goodwill, which involves being reliable and keeping your word, in which case it appears she is a good cop. As the debate continues let us keep in mind these fundamentals.
Ngahu is the marketing director of SBO Research. [email protected]; Twitter @bngahu
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