Stop laughing off sexist office banter
SARAH VINE seeks to explain the allegations of sexual harassment and bullying made against Philip Green as being banter (Mail). Sir Philip has denied all allegations and is innocent until proven guilty, but I disagree with Sarah Vine’s attempts to minimise the effect of workplace bullying by stating she suffered the same during her early career. Harassment relates to the power the harasser holds over the victim. A chief executive has the power to terminate the employment and livelihoods of their employees, so even if no ill intent is meant by so-called banter, the individuals concerned may feel powerless to complain, however uncomfortable they may feel. As an events hostess, I can confirm that there are certain men who seem to believe their wealth and position gives them the right to treat the women who are employed to serve them with utter contempt. Throughout my career, I have unfailingly found that banter and bullying begin with the same letter and are often interchangeable. Sarah Vine should use her column to campaign against workplace harassment and not protect the perpetrators indirectly by encouraging victims to see bullying as a joke. KEELEY-JASMINE CAVENDISH,
London SE21. WELL said, Sarah Vine. I agree with you about Philip Green’s behaviour. I am bemused by today’s emancipated, strong, independent women. They have careers, their own homes, all the holidays they like and can make a play for any man they want. But they can’t cope with a risque remark, a pat on the bottom or, to put it crudely, when a man tries to cop a feel. In my younger days, I would have dealt with unwelcome behaviour with a quick verbal comeback or a firm instruction to the man to keep his hands to himself. Some women are happy to use their feminine wiles when it suits them and, of course, looming in the background is compensation. It makes me ashamed to be a woman.
M. FIELD, Burpham, W. Sussex. I’VE always regarded Philip Green as a sleazeball, but if his jokey exchanges with his female employees make him a criminal, most of the men I worked with in offices in the Fifties and Sixties would be in prison. Back then we gave as good as we got, and a merry time was had by all. I’m glad I don’t have to work in the sterile, po-faced atmosphere created by today’s uber-sensitive women.
MARIE O’BRIEN, Wirral, Merseyside.