Sex Discrimination in the City- Why are there so many high profile cases?

Date: 17/ 05/ 2011 Definition: Sex discrimination is a very serious offence which offers certain advantages due to the gender of an individual. Companies have tried to exterminate sexual discrimination over the years as it can create serious problems to the reputation of the business. Furthermore, the company can lose huge amounts of money, if sued by someone who believes they have been discriminated against due to their gender. The Equality Act 2010: The Equality Act 2010 became law in October 2010 and replaces previous legislation such as the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The new act covers sex discrimination issues, as well as many others such as equal pay, based on discrimination against age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity. 1. Theory about sex discrimination H T Graham and Roger Bennett (1998) suggested that: An equal opportunity employment situation exists where there is no unfair discrimination against either of sexes or against any ethnic or legally constituted social group in terms of job, terms and conditions of employment, promotion, training, remuneration, or termination of employment. Many organisations have equal opportunities policies in which they formally state their commitment to equal opportunity ideals. 2. Reasons for the high number of sexual discrimination cases in the city: Patriarchal Society: Because the society is still patriarchal, which means is still mainly ruled by men and the most important jobs such as managers are occupied mainly by men, it is hard for women to prove they are capable to do the same jobs as men. Furthermore, the salaries and bonuses received by men are higher than those received by women, which reinforces the fact that not only the society, but also companies are patriarchal. This relates to the case of Senior banker Sarah, 40 who sued her bank due to the fact that she was paid significantly less than her male colleagues, although she had 15 years experience. 3. Power of the companies (glass ceiling) Companies are able to hide sex discrimination and therefore not have legal problems with the employees they have. Also, the more powerful a company is, the better lawyers and barristers they can hire in order to defend them in court, whilst an employee may not afford to pay the legal fees required to the sexual harassment case to court. This applies to the case of Andrea Madarassy who worked for Nomura International and was made redundant

while on maternity leave. Also, promotions seem unreachable to women, as they are usually offered to men. This was the case of a few women working for the fire and police department, who said they are not promoted due to their gender. 4. Security of the job: Nowadays it is very hard to find a job and when people manage to get one they would not risk losing it due to sexual discrimination, as the case can be lost and apart from the high costs, they can also lose their job. As many people have families for which they need to provide, losing the job is not an option so they go along with the discrimination. This was the case of lawyer Gill Switalski, who needed the security of the job in order to take care of her disabled child. 5. Increased sex discrimination if case lost in court: If the person manages to retain the job after the case has been lost in court, sex discrimination might actually occur or become worse due to the fact that the person sued the company or the director. Therefore, many people prefer not to act on their situation. Fear of social rejection: The individual might feel they might be socially rejected by the people at work if they decide to take the case to court, as the other employees might not want to be associated with that person. This could be due to the fact that their boss might see them together and have a bad opinion about both people. Fear of losing the case: A sexual discrimination case can take months, if not years, require a huge amount of evidence and therefore the legal fees need to be constantly paid. If the individual loses the case, then all the money paid for the lawyers can be lost and may not be recovered and the company can also sue that person for making false accusations, in which case the individual may have to pay the legal fees for the company as well, which can be extremely expensive. Like in the case of Jordan Wimmer, 29, she lost the case in court and now faces legal fees of around 100,000. 6. Needs of the company: Companies might not offer jobs to women from the beginning, due to the fact that they might take maternity leave, or they might not fit the needs of the company due to being a woman, having children etc. Companies look for people who are single, able to work as much and as effectively as possible and to have a flexible schedule in order to work when needed. Fear of being sued by employees: Another reason why companies might not offer jobs to women might be the fear of being sued, even if their claims might not be true. This is due to the fact that sexual discrimination is very important nowadays and this can also affect the reputation of the company. The case of Oksana Denysenko relates to the point, as she is claiming 13.5 million after she was made redundant when returning to work from maternity leave. 7.

Bibliography: Books: 2. (H T Graham and Roger Bennett- Human Resources Management, first publish 1998. Ninth edition 1998, London office, Long Acre, WC2E 9AN.) Websites: 1. ACAS. (2011)The Equality Act 2010. Available at: < http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3017 > Accessed on 11/ 05/ 2011

3. BBC. (2007) Sexual Discrimination in the City. Available at: < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6755961.stm > Accessed on 11/ 05/ 2011

4.Out- Law.com (2006) City worker loses sex discrimination case. Available at: < http://www.out-law.com/page-7720 > Accessed on 12/ 05/ 2011

wxii12.com (2011) High Point City Officials Deny Sex Discrimination Claims. Available at: < http://www.wxii12.com/news/27771020/detail.html > Accessed on 12/ 05/ 2011

5.personneltoday.com (2008) Legal Q&A: sex discrimination compensation payments. Available at: < http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/05/16/45854/legal-q.html > Accessed on 12/ 05/ 2011

northgatearinsoemployerservices.com (2008) Sex (Discrimination) and the City. Available at: < http://www.northgatearinsoemployerservices.com/essentialnews/2-employment-lawnews/16-sex-discrimination-and-the-city > Accessed on 13/ 05/ 2011

6.thetelegraph.co.uk (2011) Jordan Wimmer: female city worker loses sex discrimination case. Available at: < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-andorder/7673145/Jordan-Wimmer-female-city-worker-loses-sex-discrimination-case.html > Accessed on 13/ 05/ 2011

7. thisislondon.co.uk (2010) Banker seeks 13.5m after losing her job because of baby. Available at: < http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23865944-banker-seekspound-135-million-after-losing-her-job-because-of-baby.do > Accessed on 13/ 05/ 2011