Sexist comments still masquerading as office 'banter'

The continuing prevalence of gender discrimination revealed

A depressing picture of the extent of discrimination which still exists in workplaces is painted by the latest research from the Chartered Management Institute which reveals that four in five managers have witnessed some form of gender discrimination or bias in the last 12 months.

The survey of 851 managers found that inappropriate remarks, gender bias in recruitment and promotion decisions, and gender inequality in pay and rewards are still proving major barriers to gender equality in many organisations.

Asked what behaviours they had personally witnessed in the past 12 months, 50% of managers pointed to gender bias in recruitment/promotion decisions, while 42% said they had seen inequality in pay and rewards. Over two-thirds (69%) said they saw women struggling to make their views heard in meetings, and four in five (81%) said they had witnessed inappropriate remarks (such as comments with sexualised overtones masquerading as ‘banter’).

The research shows male managers strongly support gender parity, with 84% in favour of a gender balanced workplace. The survey also reveals that three-quarters believe that men in senior leadership roles have a particular responsibility to support the career development of talented women.

CMI Women has created ‘Blueprint for Balance’, an open source tool that helps organisations achieve 50/50 management. According to the managers surveyed, the top five Blueprint for Balance interventions they think would lead to a gender balanced workforce are:

• Flexible working – having a better work/life balance
• Balanced recruitment – seeing different sorts of role models for leadership
• Promoting leadership equality - recognising that work can have an emotional impact on employees
• Mentoring and sponsorship – more opportunities for women
• Skills and career development - everyone having appropriate opportunities to contribute and be heard in meetings