The " Sexual " Revolution !

 The sexual harassment scandal within AMP has seen the share price drop to an abysmal low and a  flurry of highly paid executives offer their resignation.  Amazingly, a leading London barrister with " QC " after his name was engaged to determine the extent of what is regarded as a " social offence " and the woman who received this unwelcome attention has also left the firm.

This simply illustrates the hazard attractive women face in the workplace. When  a man is the gatekeeper for advancement up the corporate ladder and a fatter pay packet, demand for sex is all too often the price women have to pay and that exists in all levels within most company structures.  New employees often get a  subtle warning to " watch out " because the boss has a roving eye.

In this instance, the woman obviously had talent to the extent that she was included in a work mission abroad and that barrister graded the sexual approaches made in the range from " modest " to " serious ". Questions about the age of her boy friends were certainly intrusive and the offer of the use of her boss's credit card to buy clothing was conducive on her accompanying him to an intimate dinner one evening.

That type of sexual harassment was ignored until the " Me Too " movement brought it to public attention.   In too many companies the overseeing board of directors allow the reigning chief executive unlimited power  which allows this to happen.   In any reasonable structure, both the accountant and the company auditors should query women's clothing on a chief executive credit card, but this is the same person to whom they report.

All too often the board consisted of a " men's club " but pressure has resulted in most boards now containing a mix of men and women.  It seems obvious that chief executives need to be kept on a tighter reign and this scrutiny needs to be reflected in lower management levels.  This AMP debacle shows how swiftly adverse public opinion can harm the value of the company if it goes public.

Unfortunately, there are usually some women willing to trade sex for company advancement and if promotion is not based on merit then company competence suffers.  A company with a high turnover of female staff should be sending ample warnings to its board that all is not well and they need to look closely to determine the cause.  If the cause is a predatory CEO they need to do something about it.

Unfortunately, a CEO who delivers consistent and ongoing profit under his rule usually escapes close scrutiny from the company directors.  In many cases ideocyncracies such as mixing too closely with staff are ignored -  until they become a newspaper headline.

Unfortunately, it is women who dress smartly and have the good fortune to look attractive that usually draw the attention of predatory bosses.   Women who have the misfortune to be considered " plain " rarely encounter this problem, but also are often passed over for advancement despite an excellent work history.

We live in a changing world and more women are gaining entry to the CEO's suite in many aspects of business.  Both sexes can be equally ruthless in the business world and it seems inevitable that we will eventually encounter this same sexual problem with female CEO's.