Sexism in the City

Hearing held as part of the Treasury committee’s?sexism in the City inquiry ?showed that the majority of women speaking felt the City was still an “old boys’ club” with misconduct and misogyny widespread. They said the big difference since the advent of the MeToo movement was that perpetrators were targeting women outside the office, including at conferences and drinks events, or while on work trips. Women said that male colleagues who witnessed inappropriate behaviour were often privately supportive of victims but would rarely call it out or take steps to intervene. They only helped victims avoid those known to act badly, rather than tackling the behaviour head-on, the interviewees said. Women also said they thought that non-disclosure agreements were still widely used to make problems “go away” and to avoid damaging firms’ reputations. While there had been a drop in overt sexism in the workplace, including sexist “office banter”, misogynistic mindsets were still widespread, with behaviour having instead become “more underhand and pernicious”. Although some said younger male colleagues were often more supportive, they quickly tried to emulate the behaviour of older, more senior staff. That included participating in a drinking culture, which often put pressure on non-drinkers to take part in order to fit in. However, these were also the kinds of events where the worst behaviour towards women was reported.

?The women who shared their experience put forward recommendations to tackle continuing sexism, including making sure pay and bonuses were more closely tied to diversity and inclusion efforts, and requiring firms to report on the number of gagging orders used in sexual misconduct cases. They also called for credible threats or fines and penalties for perpetrators or those condoning sexual misconduct, as well as ensuring regulators reviewed sexual misconduct when determining whether employees were “fit and proper” to take senior roles.

What are your experiences?