The Secret HR Director: Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen...

A former New York trader has recently written a book, where she lifted the lid on sexism in her sector, claiming that her male co-workers made animal noises at her in the office.

Maureen Sherry explains that the few women who worked for the New York-based global investment bank, Bear Stearns, all sat together in an area nicknamed ‘Oestrogen Row’ by her male co-workers. Sherry went on to claim that the male workers ‘mooed’ at her when she was lactating, with one colleague even drinking some of her breast milk that she stored in the office fridge.

This is only one of her many ordeals in the novel Opening Belle - an account of her 11 years as Managing Director of Bear Stearns.

Although this may be an extreme example, sexism in the workplace is still very much an issue affecting UK businesses today. But a lot of it is more subtle and, therefore, even more dangerous.  The case above is clear cut – it’s the type of thing that has obvious potential for an employment tribunal.