FOOTIE CHAT IS ‘SNUB TO WOMEN AND ENDS IN LAD BEHAVIOUR’
WORKERS should be stopped from talking about footie and cricket because it’s sexist, a business leader claims.
But Chartered Management Institute head Ann Francke was blasted for saying sports chat leaves “women in particular” feeling left out.
She also claimed exchanging banter is a “gateway to more laddish behaviour”.
Her view was criticised by prominent sports journalist Jacqui Oatley.
She said: “If you ban football chat or banter of any description, then all you’re going to do is alienate the people who actually want to communicate with each other.
“It would be so, so negative to tell people not to talk about sport because girls don’t like it or women don’t like it – that’s far more divisive.”
Speaking on BBC Radio programme, Ms Francke said: “A lot of women in particular feel left out.
“They don’t follow those sports and they don’t like being forced to talk about them or not being included.
“It’s a gateway to more laddish behaviour and – if it goes unchecked – it’s a signal of a more laddish culture.
“It’s very easy to escalate from VAR talk and chat to slapping each other on the back and talking about their conquests at the weekend.”
Ms Francke’s view have caused a huge backlash on social media.
Some called her “sexist” for suggesting women do not like sport while others said the idea was “PC gone mad”. One listener tweeted: “Plenty of women know a lot about sport!”
And another claimed she was “seeking offence in everything”. 4’s Today