Forget Football, Sexism Is Still Everywhere; the Scandal over Sexism in Football Claimed Two High-Profile Scalps Last Week - the Debate Divided the Country. but as the Furore Subsides, We Investigate the Reality of Sexism at Work

Byline: Katy Weitz

A bit of lads' banter - that is how some described the sexist comments made last week by football pundits Andy Gray and Richard Keys about a female assistant referee.

Just a bit of fun. But what may be banter to one person can be horrific bullying to another.

It was just this kind of 'lads banter' which saw PC Barbara Lynford sue Sussex Police for sexual discrimination after she was forced out of her job, suffered stress, became mentally ill and unable to work. The tribunal awarded nearly pounds 575,000 to PC Lynford, the highest such award to a public sector worker. Sexual comments, lower pay and discrimination are still rife in the workplace.

During PC Lynford's tribunal, she described her ordeal. "In all my life I have never been treated as badly as I have been at Gatwick," she said.

"I survived backpacking around India at the age of 19 for a few months where I was even kidnapped and held against my will for a few days in Bombay.

Nothing prepared me for the people at Gatwick."

Women in the UK typically earn less, own less and are more likely to live in poverty than men. They are under-represented in Parliament, in boardrooms across the country and in public life.

Unless they are young and pretty they don't …

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: Forget Football, Sexism Is Still Everywhere; the Scandal over Sexism in Football Claimed Two High-Profile Scalps Last Week - the Debate Divided the Country. but as the Furore Subsides, We Investigate the Reality of Sexism at Work. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Mirror (London, England). Publication date: January 31, 2011. Page number: 30. © 2009 MGN LTD. COPYRIGHT 2011 Gale Group.

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