Amanda Blanc | Aviva CEO's sexism whistleblowing is the radical honesty we need right now

Corporate sexism is alive and well within the workplace, if the alleged experience of Aviva’s Chief Executive Officer, Amanda Blanc, is in any way indicative of the wider professional world. Blanc boldly threw the subject into the spotlight by sharing her own experiences of reportedly fielding abusive comments levelled at her by the company’s own shareholders last week.

Her revelations relate directly to comments reportedly made by as-of-yet-anonymous members of the FTSE100-listed firm’s shareholder group, at its annual AGM on Monday. Among the innumerable deeply misogynistic comments aimed at her include allegations that she was ‘not the man for the job’ and that ‘they (women) are so good at basic housekeeping activities, I'm sure this will be reflected in the direction of the Board in future’.

Another member of the shareholder team questioned if Blanc should be ‘wearing trousers’.

“In all honesty, after 30+ years in Financial Services I am pretty used to sexist and derogatory comments like those in the AGM yesterday,” Blanc wrote in a LinkedIn post addressing the issues. “Sadly, just like many MANY other women in business, I've picked up my fair share of misogynistic scars whilst travelling on my journey through various companies and boardrooms until arriving at Aviva. We all have our own stories...