My shame, by banker cast out for sexist slur
THE sexism storm at the top of Barclays erupted when financier Amanda Staveley sued the bank for £1.6 billion.
It emerged in court last year that Stephen Jones was one of a number of executives – including then investment banking chief Roger Jenkins – to use derogatory language about her.
Staveley wanted to prove her investment firm was sidelined and denied lucrative fees in a deal she orchestrated to save Barclays in 2008. As part of her case, she alleged that she was subject to sexism during the multi-billionpound fundraising.
The court papers showed Jenkins called Staveley a ‘tart’ and a ‘dolly bird’ during the high-pressure negotiations. Jenkins apologised in court and indicated he had apologised to Staveley previously. It also emerged that Jones himself had described Jenkins as a ‘deeply unpleasant man’ who was ‘very, very nasty to work for’.
Staveley lost the case against Barclays, despite the judge saying the bank acted ‘with deceit’.