10 May Sexism: an issue 2018 years long and counting
100 years on from when women were awarded the right to vote how far have we really come in terms of gender equality?
By Isla Russell, journalism student
2018 has been the year of women. It’s been 100 years since women over the age of 30 were awarded their right to vote, and there have been countless events to celebrate this momentous occasion. But when you’re going to work and being battered with inappropriate sexual comments from your colleagues how much can you really enjoy how far we’ve come in terms of gender equality?
Emily* had just received a promotion. She worked with ex-convicts as a support time and recovery worker and this promotion was a massive step forward for her career. But what was supposed to be an exciting development in her profession turned out to be a devastating realisation of the extent of sexism in the workplace.
“It all began with a male staff member commenting on the clothing I was wearing to work” she told me. Small comments were made until one day he stated: “isn’t it kinky that she’s in a leather skirt” in front of her superiors. “It made me feel extremely uncomfortable. As if I’d done something wrong.” This comment reduced Emily, a fashion aware woman, to wearing baggy clothing to work.
Things only got worse after New Year. Emily and her team were discussing what they had done over New Years. When she mentioned that she went for a walk with her boyfriend in the woods she was met with the remark: “you might have got dirty knees if you were with your boyfriend.”
The inappropriate comments continued for Emily who had to endure remarks about her boyfriend not satisfying her sexually, and even having rumours spread around the office that she was sexually frustrated. Emily’s superiors had noticed a change in her behaviour, however told her that they couldn’t support her unless she made a complaint: “I just didn’t feel comfortable. I had only been in the company four months, and he had been there for years and worked his way up so a lot of staff had respect for him”.
On April 13thEmily finally raised a complaint. He had been tormenting another member of staff alongside Emily and she decided that enough was enough, “I regret letting it go on for so long because it affected my working relationships and I couldn’t receive any support until I made a complaint”.
Emily is just one of the one in ten women according to Opportunity Now who experience sexual harassment in the workplace. In a twisted sense, she is one of the lucky ones. Once she had put in her complaint her harasser left the company to avoid an investigation against him.
More people than ever before are sharing their experiences of sexism via avenues like the #MeToo movement. Joe Levenson, the director of communications and campaigns at The Young Women’s Trust, says on fighting sexism in the workplace, “If you haven’t got a boss who will take you seriously then there aren’t that many courses of action you can take but speak to your colleagues because if it’s happening to you it may be happening to them”.
So, what is the future for sexism in the workplace? Emily says: “my only hope is that it doesn’t continue and that both females and males can feel comfortable in their place of work”.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.
