a shirt and boobs

Last night, I went to an annual firm dinner. Everyone was wearing a suit, and most of those suits were pants suits. Granted, all the men wore pants suits and there were more men there than women. Still, the women rallied behind the pants suit, with only limited exceptions. One partner recalled the first female partner who wore pants suits to the office some thirty years ago, and the upheaval it caused at the time. I'm sure this same upheaval was occurring at offices nationwide. Employers didn't know what to do with the changing identity of women in the workforce. Without the skirt, what was to distinguish them from their male counterparts?
As Ann Taylor and even Brooks Brothers began to tailor pants suits and collared shirts for women, there remained one difference from the men's version. Aside from that random 90's trend perpetuated by Madonna urging us to Vogue, women do not wear ties.
Without the tie running down the center of our chests, is the female uniform "a shirt and boobs," instead of a shirt and tie?

I don't have a clue how fashion evolved this way. I'm happy that the proverbial noose does not have to hang around my neck all day. I hear it's uncomfortable and often stifling, and that is where it all makes sense. Women's breasts have been uncomfortable and often stifling since the beginning of time. Sure, you can jazz them up with the right undergarments or a really cute top., just like ties come in fun paisley prints, and even with little animals embroidered on them. Dress it up and make it pretty. We're all just showing the world what we're working with (thank you Mystikal for the reference).