Woman high-flier ‘fired for not liking football and drinking with lads’
EXCLUSIVE
A BUSINESSWOMAN claimed she was sacked from a major FTSE 100 company because she did not want to talk about football and go out drinking with “the lads”.
High-flying Adrienne Liebenberg was sacked from her £200,000-a-year job at international packaging group DS Smith in December 2018 after being told her “leadership style” was “not working”.
However Ms Liebenberg – who had previously worked at oil and gas giant BP Castrol – took the firm to an employment tribunal, arguing that she was sacked because of her gender.
In a witness statement read out at the Central London Employment Tribunal, Ms Liebenberg alleged that she was marginalised at DS Smith because did not want to join in with the male banter and work style.
She said key business decisions were often taken over “boozy dinners” with a “gang” of senior male employees where the practice was “bonding, drink and football”.
Ms Liebenberg added that she found it difficult to join in with these events, because she felt “alienated by the focus on drinking, and talking about football, and starting up late”.
Pressure
She said: “I did not believe that I was accepted as ‘one of the lads’ and I did not feel that I was capable of playing such a role. When I did not join in I felt under pressure to do so.”
The businesswoman joined DS Smith as director of global sales, marketing and innovation in March 2017, and was handed a “special joining award” of £100,000 to spend on shares on top of her six-figure salary.
But tensions quickly grew between Ms Liebenberg and her line manager Stefano Rossi, DS Smith Packaging CEO.
She said: “I felt that Stefano’s modus operandi was to connect with his team over wine, dinner and football. Because I did not embrace those things in the way that my male colleagues did, I was perceived, by Stefano and others, as not being a ‘team player’ or ‘one of the gang’.”
Ms Liebenberg said Mr Rossi was a huge football fan and would often interrupt meetings to discuss football or watch match highlights.
She added: “I cannot remember a single day of meetings at which we went the whole day without Stefano watching football matches, or videos of parts of matches, on his phone or following football scores and interrupting meetings with an update or to discuss Inter Milan or a particular player.”
Expressing surprise at how male-dominated DS Smith was, Ms Liebenberg noted that she was “often the only woman in the room”.
Out of 35 leadership roles in sales and operational positions at the company, only eight were reportedly filled by women.
She said: “I believe that at the time of my dismissal, I was the most senior and highest-paid woman.” Ms Liebenberg said her experience left her feeling “hopeless and helpless”. She said: “I think that I have been particularly upset and angered because I believe that I have been treated as I have because I am a woman, either directly or indirectly.
“It has destroyed my belief that if someone sets their mind to something and works hard, they have a good chance of achieving their goals, whatever their gender.
“It may sound like a small thing, but having this belief taken away has made me feel hopeless and helpless and with a deep sense of despair that women and men are not equals.” Mr
Rossi and colleagues insisted that Ms Liebenberg was sacked because of poor performance rather than sexism.
In a statement to the tribunal, Mr Rossi cited her “dictatorial approach” and “lack of respect for senior colleagues”.
When Ms Liebenberg was sacked, Mr Rossi said the company was seeking “a different leadership style,” and criticised her for not being “collegial” with other employees.
The firm, Mr Rossi, group chief executive Miles Roberts and HR director Tim Ellis all deny sex discrimination.The hearing continues.