A damning report into sexism in the city has revealed no progress has been made in tackling harassment and bullying of women.

The Commons Treasury Select Committee has launched an investigation after claims of sexual misconduct against fund manager Crispin Odey and the CBI lobby group.

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Evidence was provided by City figures including Baroness Helena Morrissey and AVIVA boss Amanda Blanc.

The MPs said: “While sexual harassment of women is a social problem, it is worse in the financial services industry than in many others.”

They added that it was “shocking to hear how widespread sexual harassment and bullying – up to and including serious sexual assault and rape – occurs”.

MP Harriet Baldwin complained: “It is so frustrating that efforts to tackle sexism in the city are moving at a snail’s pace.”

The committee recommended passing legislation to ban non-disclosure agreements in sexual harassment cases – and to better protect whistleblowers.

The committee also examined the lack of progress on the city’s gender pay gap – and how to include more women in senior roles.

Only 12 percent of named fund managers in Britain are women and there are currently 15 female CEOs among the 350 largest London-listed companies. That’s only four percent.

The committee recommended a ban on potential employers asking candidates for salary history, which unfairly affects many women. It also wants salary ranges in job vacancies so that women are not shortchanged.

Bearing and raising children is one of the major barriers to women’s advancement.

MPs made the recommendations after discovering that at the current glacial pace it will take 70 years to close the gender pay gap.

PensionBee boss Romi Savova said salary disclosure rules would be a big step forward in preventing women from being hired on lower pay than male colleagues.

Costume drama

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THERE has been a lot of drama at ITV, the broadcaster behind hit shows such as The Masked Singer, above, and Love Island.

The company saw profits fall 61 percent to £193 million due to a slowdown in advertising.

Boss Carolyn McCall says she will save a further £50 million in costs.

The broadcaster has invested in its ITVX streaming service, boosting digital revenue to £490 million.

Virgin in a £2.9 billion takeover

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NATIONWIDE has completed a £2.9 billion takeover of rival Virgin Money, which will create Britain’s second largest mortgage and savings group.

The building society, which has 605 branches, said it will not close any of Virgin Money’s 91 branches until 2026.

It will also retain the Virgin Money brand name for six years – meaning Sir Richard Branson will continue to receive around £15 million a year in royalties for use of the Virgin name until it is phased out.

Virgin Money – Britain’s sixth largest retail bank – was formed following the acquisition of Northern Rock in the wake of the financial crisis and was bought by Clydesdale and Yorkshire in 2018.

Nationwide’s offer of 220 cents per share represents a 38 percent premium to the closing price of Virgin Money shares.

Debbie Crosbie, Nationwide boss, said the takeover was “the advantages of fairer banking and mutual ownership for more people.”

M&S joint boss gone

Marks & Spencer CO-CHIEF director Katie Bickerstaffe will leave the retailer in July, bringing an end to one of the most unusual boardrooms in business.

Ms Bickerstaffe was part of a controversial decision to promote two senior employees to lead the company – billed as ‘flying in formation’.

She still had to report to Stuart Machin, who is still CEO.

Ms Bickerstaffe, who paid £2.2m last year, is leaving to take on more non-executive board roles.

Gender conflict in the field of pensions

IT’S International Women’s Day today, but you could call it Pension Gender Gap Groundhog Day.

The gap is the difference between the values ​​of men’s and women’s private pension pots at age 55 – the earliest they can be accessed.

Figures estimate this difference to be as much as 35 percent.

The average woman turns 55 with just under £100,000 in pension – while the average man has just under £150,000. This gap persists because many women are the default caregiver for children or other family members.

Their free time leads to career obstacles, lower wages and missed pension contributions.

Many are increasing their contributions to compensate. But they should not have to give up more of their income than men to get an equal pension.

Many companies offer women longer paid maternity leave than men. But childcare leave must be the same to avoid sending the message that caring for children is a woman’s job.

To make women’s task even more difficult, their state pension age was raised from 60 to 66, but equality in the workplace remains elusive.

SHARES

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has given her ‘full support’ to Sam Kerr as she addressed her superstar striker’s trial on Wednesday.

On Monday evening, the Daily Mail exclusively revealed that Kerr will face a criminal trial in February next year after being accused of racially abusing a police officer.

The 2018 Young Australian of the Year will seek to have the charges, which arose from an alleged dispute over a taxi fare, dismissed out of court.

It later emerged that Kerr had called PC Lovell a ‘stupid white PC’ and threw up in the taxi.

And speaking to the media ahead of Chelsea’s upcoming match against Manchester City, Hayes said the club fully supports the 30-year-old.

“Sam has our full support, she knows that,” she said. ‘It’s a difficult time for her. Of course I can’t comment, you know that.

Asked if she was aware of the criminal proceedings before Monday’s news broke, Hayes said: “I cI say that I know she has pleaded not guilty and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize anything for Sam by talking about it. For that reason, I am sure you can understand that this is all I am going to say on this matter.

“But she has our full support, she knows that. It is very important that I convey that, it is something that I really appreciate.’

This development adds to a frustrating year for Kerr, who has been sidelined due to injury. Hayes said everyone at the London club is supportive.

“There are tough moments, tough times and that’s what my role is at this football club, to make sure I look after our people,” she added. I want to make it clear that Sam will be supported by me and everyone else.”

Hayes’ comments come after Football Australia and Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson revealed they knew nothing about the Twickenham incident.

Speaking to media in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon, Gustavsson confirmed he had not been informed of the allegations before the news broke that morning.

“I heard about it for the first time this morning,” he said.

‘I was informed this morning and was obviously surprised and had some time to talk to the federation [Football Australia] about the.

‘And as you know, the federation has issued a statement. Because it is a legal process, I have to refer to that statement.

‘Unfortunately I can’t say more than that.

“But I can make it very clear that today was the very first time I heard about it.”

Gustavsson was asked about Kerr’s character and whether the alleged crime was consistent with her personality.

“I cannot comment on the violation as it is a legal matter at this time,” he said.

“All I can say is [on] is my experience and interaction with Sam, as a person, as a football player.

‘And I have only had positive experiences with that.’

When asked if he would support Kerr during the proceedings, Gustavsson gave a blunt answer.

“I think FA was very clear about that too, in terms of supporting our players on and off the pitch,” he said.

‘With the respect and sensitivity that it is. And I understand why there are a lot of questions about it.

‘Of course, as a human being I will always support it [her].’

Kerr was charged on January 21 this year but did not inform Football Australia (FA), chief executive James Johnson said.

“I woke up this morning like everyone else did with the news,” Johnson told reporters in Adelaide.

“And then Football Australia heard about this disturbing event.

‘We are currently trying to get to the bottom of it.

‘We have our own questions that we would like to know, we need to find out what really happened.

“But we also want to say that there is a process going on in Britain and that process must take its course.”

• The Chelsea forward appeared in court yesterday and the trial is scheduled for February next year

By George Odling

Published: 1:21 PM EST, March 4, 2024 | Updated: 2:18 PM EST, March 4, 2024

Brandi GlanvilleThe lawyers are not happy about that Andy Cohen‘fake apology’ after their client accused Cohen of sexual harassment earlier this month.

“Any boss who is clearly drunk and encourages his employee via a Facetime video to watch his boss have sex with another employee constitutes sexual harassment, plain and simple, under any definition, even made up by NBC,” says Glanville’s legal team, which consists of Bryan Freedman And Mark Geragostold We weekly in a statement on Friday, February 23, referring to Cohen’s alleged misconduct.

The statement continued: “Why does Andy Cohen get a pass? Any other supervisor at Comcast/NBC who engaged in this behavior would be fired immediately on the spot. It’s no excuse to say this was a joke.”

Glanville, 51, recently accused Cohen, 55, of being “drunk” and sending her an inappropriate video in 2022, according to a lengthy letter her lawyers sent to NBCUniversal, Shed Media and Shed’s parent company Warner Bros, according to Variety.

Glanville claimed that Cohen told her in the message that he “intended to sleep with another Bravo star that night while thinking about her” and claimed that he “invited her to watch via FaceTime.”

The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star stated that she felt “trapped” and “disgusted” by Cohen’s alleged phone call, especially since he was her “boss” at the time.

Cohen responded to the allegations via social media on Thursday, February 22, denying that it was anything more than a joke.

“The video shows it Kate Chastain and I was clearly joking to Brandi. “It was definitely meant as a joke, and it was clear from Brandi’s reaction that she was in on the joke,” Cohen said wrote via X. “That said, it was completely inappropriate and I apologize.”

However, Glanville’s legal team made it clear on Friday that Cohen’s apology wasn’t good enough and called for his job at NBCUniversal’s Bravo network.

“NBC wrongly gave Andy too much power within their network,” Glanville’s attorneys said Us in the statement. “He’s a man who hosts reunions in various cities across the franchise, produces and stars in his own show to promote these vehicles, hosts a massive conference that monetizes the ‘bravosphere’ on the backs of women, and is the capo that runs this reality machine. NBC has clearly decided he is too big to fail.”

The legal group argued that “NBC has learned nothing from the cover-up at NBC NEWS,” comparing Cohen’s actions to those of the disgraced journalist. Matt Lauer. (Lauer, 66, was fired from NBC Today show in November 2017 after being accused of sexual misconduct and assault. Lauer denied the claims, but NBC faced backlash over the allegations as it was later learned that the network hid the reports for two years.)

“Like Matt Lauer, Andy Cohen is now part of the cover-up,” the Glanville team alleged on Friday. “NBC continues to protect those in power. Brian Roberts, it’s time to intervene, as you did with Andy Lack And Jeff Shell and stop the cover-up and do the right thing. Your legacy and decency demand it.”

Glanville’s allegations about Cohen came nearly a month after Glanville was indicted Caroline Manzo for allegedly kissing manzo, 62, without her consent during the filming of The ultimate girls trip from Real Housewives in Morocco in January 2023. (The season has yet to air following the allegations.)

Manzo claimed in court documents obtained by Us last month that Bravo regularly pushes its TV stars to drink alcohol so that they would “get seriously intoxicated, and then incite, encourage, and/or allow them to sexually harass other cast members because it’s for good ratings.” ”

Manzo claimed that Glanville did not attend the mandatory sexual harassment class for the cast and claimed there were no consequences for it.

Glanville then kissed Manzo with his mouth closed. Glanville then kissed Manzo again. Manzo felt very uncomfortable,” the doctors claimed. “Glanville then proceeded to mount Manzo on the couch while holding Manzo down with her body, forcibly squeezing Manzo’s cheeks together and sticking her tongue into Manzo’s mouth while fucking her.”

Glanville denied her involvement in the alleged incident through a statement released by her lawyers.

“Unfortunately, Brandi had to file another lawsuit alleging defamatory, false allegations about her,” the statement said. Us January read. “During filming, Brandi followed what the producers asked of her, and there was no sexual abuse. She is innocent of these absurd accusations that have weighed on her mental and physical health for far too long without a word of support from Peacock, Shed or Bravo.

We weekly has contacted Cohen and Bravo for comment.

Andy Cohen has addressed Brandi Glanville‘s recent allegations of sexual harassment against him.

“The video shows it Kate Chastain and I was clearly joking to Brandi. It was definitely meant as a joke, and it was clear from Brandi’s reaction that she was in on the joke,” Cohen, 55, wrote via X on Thursday, February 22. “That said, it was completely inappropriate and I apologize.”

Cohen referred to a video he allegedly sent to 51-year-old Glanville in 2022, where the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star alleged that Cohen was drunk, according to a letter from Glanville’s legal team sent to NBCUniversal, Shed Media and Shed’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, per Variety.

The letter claimed that the Watch what’s happening live The host told Glanville that he wanted to “sleep with another Bravo star” while he was “thinking” about her. Cohen allegedly invited Glanville to watch him have sex via FaceTime. The letter did not reveal the identity of the other reality star.

According to VarietyThe note also claimed that Glanville felt “trapped” and “disgusted” by Cohen’s “abuse of power” as he was her “boss” at the time.

Glanville’s allegations against Cohen come almost a month later Caroline Manzo filed a lawsuit against Bravo over an alleged incident between herself and Glanville. In 2023, the women filmed a season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip in Morocco. (The season has yet to air due to the allegations.)

This is evident from court documents obtained by We weeklyManzo, 62, alleged that Bravo would regularly push the reality stars to drink alcohol so that they would become “severely intoxicated, and then direct, encourage and/or allow them to sexually harass other cast members because it would be for good ratings.” is.”

In January 2023, it was reported that Glanville and Manzo left filming of the Housewives spin-off early after Glanville allegedly kissed Manzo multiple times without her consent.

The documents alleged that Glanville did not attend the mandatory sexual harassment class for the cast and that she allegedly faced no consequences for it.

The filing also included details of the alleged meeting between Manzo and Glanville.

Glanville then kissed Manzo with his mouth closed. Glanville then kissed Manzo again. Manzo felt very uncomfortable,” the doctors said. “Glanville then proceeded to mount Manzo on the couch while holding Manzo down with her body, forcibly squeezing Manzo’s cheeks together and sticking her tongue into Manzo’s mouth while fucking her.”

Although Glanville was named in the lawsuit, she is not listed as a defendant. Glanville previously declared her innocence in a series of tweets from December 2023.

“The producers ask you to do something. And then it gets you into trouble. The producers must follow the rules,” Glanville wrote via X at the time. “Producers may not be shoving alcohol down our throats, but they are encouraging it, even in Morocco during the day where it is illegal to drink!”

Glanville’s legal team addressed Manzo’s lawsuit in a statement Us, writes: “Unfortunately, Brandi had to wake up to yet another lawsuit involving defamatory, false allegations about her. During filming, Brandi followed what the producers asked of her, and there was no sexual assault. She is innocent of these absurd accusations that have weighed on her mental and physical health for far too long without a word of support from Peacock, Shed or Bravo.

Days of our lives star Arianne Zucker has accused the soap opera's production company of sexual harassment.

Zucker, 49, called Corday Production Inc. and executive producer Ken Corday iWednesday, Feb. 7 lawsuit, alleging that she and several other women were sexually harassed on set To dawn. This is evident from court documents obtained by We weeklyZucker is suing the production company for discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination.

Zucker alleged that she faced “sexually harassing comments” and “non-consensual physical touching or sexual nature” during her tenure. Days of our lives. (She has played Nicole Walker since 1988.) Zucker also blasted the TV director Albert Alarr of making such comments and claimed Corday was aware of the alleged misconduct.

“From the beginning of Alarr's tenure, he has repeatedly submitted [Arianne] and other employees to severe and widespread harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment, on the basis of their female gender,” according to court documents. “Namely, on an ongoing basis, and in furtherance of its intent to harass and discriminate against Plaintiff on the basis of her gender, Alarr subjected Plaintiff to sexually harassing comments and non-consensual physical touching of a sexual nature.”

Zucker also reportedly witnessed Alarr, 67, harassing other women and making sexually charged comments.

“Alarr, Corday and Ken Corday treated female employees disproportionately to male employees,” Zucker alleged. “Female hair and makeup workers and female actresses were often verbally abused and assigned tasks that were deliberately impossible to complete within the given time frame. Alarr would often yell at female employees in the plaintiff's presence, causing them to burst into tears. Alarr did not shout or berate the male employees. A female actress complained to Alarr that she felt morally uncomfortable with a particular scene, and was subsequently fired by Corday and Ken Corday.

A spokesperson for To dawn denied Zucker's claims.

“The allegations in Ms. Zucker's lawsuit are baseless. Corday Productions offered to renew Ms. Zucker's contract, including offering a raise. Rejecting Ms. Zucker's counteroffer does not constitute retaliation,” the representative said Us. “Complaints about Mr. Alarr's behavior on set were immediately investigated. Corday Productions fully cooperated with the impartial investigation and subsequently dismissed Mr. Alarr.”

Zucker, meanwhile, claimed she was “afraid to come forward” because of the prospect of retaliation or being banned from the industry. She noted that five women were “inexplicably fired” or resigned To dawn because of the culture of intimidation and discrimination.

In March 2023, Zucker shared her complaints about the offensive comments and alleged unequal pay with Corday, who apparently “passed the burden in a lighthearted manner” to his colleagues. She further claimed that the network had not attempted to protect the soap stars from further harassment at the time.

Zucker's contract with the production company expired in January and Corday reportedly refused to negotiate her salary when she was presented with a new deal. She was then reportedly “dismissed from her employment.”

“As a result of Defendants' illegal conduct, Plaintiff has experienced and continues to experience extreme circumstances,” the documents add. “[Arianne] was thus forced to work under intolerable and illegal conditions and in a hostile work environment, despite her complaints and protests.”

Zucker's lawyer, Anahita Sedaghatfarreiterated her client's claims in a statement shared with Us.

“I would like to add that Ms. Zucker did what we tell all women who experience harassment to do, and that is to report it. Ms. Zucker did just that and was the voice for other women who were too afraid to come forward,” Sedaghatfar said. “Rather than condoning her bravery, Ms. Zucker claims Corday retaliated against her and because she spoke out, she lost a job she was dedicated to for 20 years. As part of this lawsuit, we will seek to ensure that Corday provides sexual harassment training to its employees and hires an intimacy coordinator to be on set for sex scenes.”

ENGLAND and Brentford have condemned the “despicable harassment” of Ivan Toney after he received more racist online abuse.

And Toney's representatives have called on football authorities and social media platforms to crack down on the “widespread” problem within football.

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The furious Bees also branded social media companies' response to abuse as 'disappointing'.

A statement from Brentford said: “We are angry and frustrated to report that Ivan has once again been the victim of racist abuse on Instagram.

“We have launched an investigation into this vile harassment, which we condemn in the strongest terms.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time Ivan has had to deal with this. Just four weeks ago, a similar incident took place, allowing us to identify an alleged perpetrator who we reported to the authorities. To date, we have not taken any action against this individual.”

A statement from Three Lions added: “It is incredibly disappointing that Ivan Toney has once again been the victim of racist abuse on social media.

“There must be consequences for this behavior, and we support strong action from the authorities and social media companies.”

Toney, 27, has previously received racist comments on Instagram and Brentford wants anyone found guilty of posting racist comments to be prosecuted.

In March 2023, a 24-year-old man was banned from every football pitch in Britain for three years after racially abusing Toney, who had scored the Bees' equalizer at Arsenal, on social media.

The man also received a prison sentence of four months, of which two years.

Brentford's statement added: “Overall, the response from social media platforms to these ongoing issues has been disappointing.

“Their solutions, such as filters to simply hide the abuse, may protect players, but completely miss the point and do not discourage offenders. Without real consequences for those responsible, the cycle is doomed to repeat itself.

“We are confident that things can change. We value the dialogue we have with people like Meta, but we call for more decisive and urgent action to combat online hate.

“We call for swift investigations, and most importantly, we call for criminal prosecution. We will continue to work with the authorities and the Premier League and support our players in tackling this appalling online abuse.”

I would prefer to keep Toney, but one day it might be nice to see him on a top team.

Thomas Frank

Luton striker Elijah Adebayo was also targeted in October when the Hatters called it 'despicable and a cowardly act of online abuse'.

And Toney's agent Jonathan Barnett, of ICM Stellar, said: “I unequivocally condemn the racist abuse our player Ivan Toney has been subjected to on social media.

“Everyone at ICM Stellar is shocked that this type of unconscionable and despicable behavior is still prevalent in society today.

“Social media can no longer ignore a widespread and recurring problem on their platforms. We call on all forms of social media to do more to prevent, address and combat unacceptable and distressing incidents of discrimination such as this.

“My team will investigate and report any findings to the appropriate authorities – we won't just be bystanders.

“Personally, I stand with Ivan, his family and friends, and also with everyone who has been a victim of discrimination. We beg the football world to throw it out – once and for all.”

Toney's Brentford boss Thomas Frank has stated that the club will sell their prized asset this summer.

Toney, valued at over €80m and linked with moves to Arsenal and Chelsea in January, has just returned from an eight-month gambling ban and has scored two goals in three Prem games so far on his return.

Frank said: “It is relatively obvious that Ivan will probably be sold this summer. We also know what he is worth. I don't think there are many strikers in the world right now who are better than him.

“Personally, as a coach I would prefer to keep Toney, but one day it could be nice to see him in a top team.

“We didn't actually have any offers for him this winter, but I'll be surprised if there aren't many clubs interested in him.”

A group of seven former employees of Elon Musk's SpaceX say the rocket and satellite company discriminated against women, joking about sexual harassment and even firing those who complained, a new civil rights complaint alleges.

According to the complaint, first reported by Bloomberg the employees were fired by the company in 2022 after a letter critical of Musk circulated through SpaceX.

The employees allege that during their time at the company they faced inappropriate behavior and sexual jokes from managers, who often quoted Musk.

“Basically, anything that would make a freshman laugh was fair game in large parts of the company,” said one of the fired employees, Tom Moline.

The group says SpaceX violated California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, which protects workers who are critical of their management and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.

The California Civil Rights Department first contacted SpaceX about the allegations in January.

In October, SpaceX was sued by a female former employee who alleged the company pays and promotes women and minorities less than white men.

Engineer Paige Holland-Thielen, one of the plaintiffs in the new civil rights lawsuit, told Bloomberg that from the moment she was hired by SpaceX in 2018, she felt discriminated against because she was considered a “level 1” employee, despite being had more experience than men who were given higher roles.

Even after being promoted, Holland-Thielen claims she was left out of meetings and decisions because of her gender.

When she complained that a male colleague was taking credit for her work, Holland-Thielen said she was subjected to a performance review in which she was told she was “too emotional” and that she needed to be “more humble.”

She claims she once tried to complain to a manager about a co-worker's inappropriate behavior, but the manager made a sexual joke when they saw downward-pointing data on her computer and reportedly said, “How can we take it higher, get higher, get higher? '

The civil rights complaint also states that Musk posted content to Twitter that workers considered inappropriate, and that they could not easily avoid it because he also used the platform to make important company announcements.

The complainants say the situation reached a boiling point for them when Musk was accused of sexually harassing a SpaceX flight attendant in 2022. The lawsuit alleges that the company denies the claims and that an HR director said something like, “I have never been sexually harassed.” [sic]”I must not be warm enough.”

Disappointed with the way the company handled the accusation, the employees decided to write an open letter that they said led to their dismissal. The letter said Musk's behavior was “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment.”

Moline claims he was one of several employees who was subsequently called into a meeting and fired.

“They informed me that my employment was being terminated because they determined that I was responsible for conceiving, writing and distributing the open letter,” Molina said in the complaint.

In October, former SpaceX engineer Ashley Foltz filed a proposed class action in the state of California last year, saying the company paid her $92,000 a year, while men with similar duties and qualifications were paid up to $115,000.

California law prohibits employers from paying employees less than co-workers who perform “substantially similar work” based on their gender, race or ethnicity.

Foltz said she discovered the discrepancy when SpaceX posted job openings for engineering positions with a salary range of $95,000 to $115,000.

This year, a pay transparency law went into effect in California, requiring employers to include salary ranges in job postings.

Last November, the ex-employees took the complaints to the National Labor Law Office and the agency ruled that SpaceX had indeed violated federal labor law by firing the workers, who are mostly engineers.

SpaceX subsequently sued the agency, arguing that the ruling would damage its reputation and ability to recruit talent.