We must all stand up to sexism at work

Grim though it is, no-one should be surprised that women face sexism daily at work and that some are called “babe”, gawked at and passed over for promotion in favour of male colleagues.

The survey from Unison on gender bias in the public sector is one more piece of evidence that we have a long way to go before genuine equality is won.

In 2018 most women will have had experience of outright sexism or gender bias, whether casual or intended.

Depressingly, 100 years after the first women got the vote in Britain, equality of the sexes still eludes us at home and work.

Genuine progress, while there has been some, is glacially slow in all walks of life – while this survey comes from the public sector, it is hardly a unique case.

Having said that, the public sector has a duty to lead and uphold standards as the face of government services men and women pay for in our taxes.

At the heart of all this is ingrained bias and the age-old problem that women take on the lion’s share of caring. Having and looking after children, sick relatives or elderly family members most often, though not always, falls to women. This often has a devastating impact on their careers and earning power.

This is not always through choice. When new parents agree who is going to take the largest portion of responsibility for childcare they often decide on which partner gets paid more and which has the greatest career prospects. Often, long before babies appear, this is the man. Women are not always, but often, stuck in a rut of traditional women’s jobs which pay less than those seen as traditionally male.

Even if they do reach the giddy heights of top jobs they are still treated worse. BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie, who resigned for being paid less than male counterparts, is just one recent example of that.

We can call out the NHS, councils, schools, the BBC and whoever else has been caught with their trousers down this week, but the truth is, sexism is rife and likely to be found almost everywhere.

Feminism needed to counter this is not anti-men. It is a positive movement to improve life for men and women; for mothers, daughters, sisters, wives and girlfriends. All of us have, or have had, one of those.

Do we really believe they are worth less? The answer has to be a resounding no. The Western Mail newspaper is published by Media Wales a subsidiary company of Trinity Mirror PLC, which is a member of IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation. The entire contents of The Western Mail are the copyright of Media Wales Ltd. It is an offence to copy any of its contents in any way without the company’s permission. If you require a licence to copy parts of it in any way or form, write to the Head of Finance at Six Park Street. The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2016 was 62.8%