‘Danger zone’: the warnings designed to protect women at UK business events | Sexual harassment

They were informed in late February when more than 1,300 loan officers, regulators and MPs descended on the Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane for a black tie dinner.

Invitees to the Finance and Leasing Association event were handed an Annual Dinner Code of Conduct, which informs guests of the new policy on discrimination and sexual harassment. The industry group said: “We do not condone such behavior and, together with our event agencies, will take immediate steps to stop it.”

Members including Santander and Lloyd’s will be having dinner over a three-course meal including smoked trout, guinea fowl and a glass of Argentinian Malbec, ahead of a dinner featuring speeches from broadcasters Andrew Neil and Claire Balding. This was the first time that industry organizations participated. The Banking Group and the financing divisions of Harley-Davidson and Ferrari have issued such declarations.

But FLA is just one of a growing number of organizations seeking to tackle lax attitudes towards behavior at conferences, after-work drinks and business trips in London, putting staff, guests and reputations at risk. There is a possibility of exposure.

WThe introduction of the UK Equality Act in 2010 was arguably the catalyst for corporate diversity and inclusion efforts, and progress, or lack thereof, has come under increased scrutiny since 2017 due to the #MeToo movement and scandals in the city. confronting.

In the wake of rape and sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, women around the world began sharing personal stories of sexual harassment, including in the workplace. A few months later, revelations about the men-only President’s Club dinner shocked Britain. There, hired hostesses were allegedly molested and sexually harassed by invited businessmen and bankers.

The company response has led to a renewed focus on female representation and stricter rules regarding workplace behavior. However, few companies paid attention to gatherings held outside of working hours.

Some experts suggest this has created a behavioral waterbed effect. So while illegal activity may be on the decline in the office, it continues to rear its ugly head elsewhere.

Earlier this year, the influential Commons Finance Committee published evidence As part of our study on gender discrimination in cities, we surveyed more than 40 women across financial services.

Personal experiences shared with MPs, from bullying to rape, left the powerful committee with the impression that work-related harassment has simply moved outside of public office. Instead, her after-work drinks, meetings and business trips are becoming “danger zones” for women, said Harriet Baldwin, the Conservative chair of the committee.

However, companies are starting to respond. “As awareness grows, some industry bodies are taking steps to combat this, such as developing ‘event codes of conduct’ and creating lists of unacceptable behavior at events.”

The report highlighted evidence from the International Securities Lending Association, a trade group for the financial industry, which in its report calls “unwanted sexual advances” and “sexist, racist, homophobic or The company announced its policy of not tolerating any other discriminatory jokes. event code.

Similarly, the Mortgage Brokers Association warns guests that “any loud, obscene, or offensive conduct, including sexually explicit or offensive language, content, or conduct,” will not be tolerated by the perpetrator at the event. and said he may be banned from future events.

Experts say that while business leaders undoubtedly want to deter harassment, the provisions also exist to protect a company’s reputation if things go wrong.

“There’s a real recognition that if you have a reputation, it can kill your business,” said Joanna Chatterton, an employment lawyer and partner at law firm Fox Williams. She said: “They see that they are taking steps so that they can say, ‘If someone did something bad, we took all reasonable steps to prevent that from happening.’ It must be done.”

Mr Chatterton was hired last year by the Confederation of British Industry lobby group to conduct an internal investigation amid a series of sexual harassment allegations exposed by the Guardian newspaper.

These included claims by a woman that she was raped by a CBI manager during a summer boat party hosted by the lobby group on the River Thames in 2019. Another woman reported an attempted sexual assault by her manager that day, and another woman claimed there was extensive cocaine use at a CBI official event.

The CBI is currently trying to restore its reputation. The rebuilding effort includes a revised “Event Code of Conduct,” a link to which is now displayed on the website’s home page. The code asserts that the CBI will not tolerate conduct that includes “inappropriate physical contact, sexual advances or innuendo, deliberate intimidation, stalking, non-consensual photographs or recordings of individuals”.

The scandal was a wake-up call for companies organizing events. “Many organizations have been aware of this for some time,” Chatterton said. “The CBI is a good example, but when you see things being done very publicly, I think in some ways it increases the attention.”

Lawyers say the use of codes of conduct at events could accelerate further once the 2010 Equality Act reforms come into force. Philippa O’Malley, an employment lawyer and partner at law firm Slaughter & May, said the changes would mean that from October 2024, employers will be required to take “reasonable measures” to prevent sexual harassment of employees during their employment. It is necessary to take appropriate measures. . That can extend to harassment by third parties, including customers and clients, she added.

Randall Peterson, a professor of organizational behavior at London Business School, said the rollout of codes of conduct feels like a “logical next step” for companies concerned about their liability.

“I think it’s a really interesting question how effective that will be, given that there’s not something like an employment relationship attached to it,” he said. “I think it’s probably worth trying and experimenting with.”

That means the real test for employers will be to demonstrate that the code of conduct actually matters and that they are willing to pursue wrongdoers both within and outside of direct employment.

“I don’t think it’s reasonable or realistic to expect an employer to completely stop all bad behavior because they can’t control everyone’s behavior,” O’Malley said. . “But they need to show they have real teeth behind those norms and policies.

“I think this is a very important point, not only from the standpoint of preventing people from behaving in that way, but also from the standpoint of employee psychological safety and employee trust in their employer. ”