If you thought scantily clad women offering food to fund their brethren at skimpy parties was a 90's thing, think again.
Just last week, it was revealed that Copper, a cryptocurrency company chaired by British politician Sir Philip Hammond, hosted a private party in London in March where guests were served sushi made from the bodies of half-naked models. This was revealed in a leaked photo.
It turns out that even a global pandemic, lockdowns, and a new level of respect for co-workers' personal space (remember elbow bumps?) weren't enough for the deaths. wolf of wall street-Antics of the era.
A toxic culture still thrives, at least in the City of London, and Copper's hedonistic soirées are just the latest evidence of that.
Last month, the UK Parliament released a long-awaited report into gender discrimination in cities.
More than 40 women in finance spoke to councilors on the Finance Committee about their experiences during the investigation to determine how much meaningful progress the city's employers have made since the last review in 2018. The answer seems to be “not very many.”
Aviva CEO Amanda Brann told MPs that harassment in financial services, which employs more than 2.5 million people, remains worse than in any other industry.
Citing data collected by the nonprofit organization Speak Out Revolution and the advocacy group Can't Buy My Silence, the report states that 45% of workers in the financial services industry have experienced sexual harassment at work. I've encountered it before,” he said.
“The evidence we collected was shocking, particularly the extent of misogyny, sexual harassment and bullying, ranging from severe sexual assault and rape,” the report said, noting that NDAs that silenced victims It added that the use of remains widespread.
Last week, the Guardian reported that the CBI had used up to 10 gag clauses in the last year alone to prevent staff from speaking about their experiences of sexual misconduct or bullying within the organization.
And last month, three more women sought to join a sexual misconduct lawsuit against Crispin O'Day, one of Britain's best-known hedge fund managers, and his company O'Day Asset Management. (Mr. O'Day denies all allegations.)
That's one reason Brann, who became the company's first female chief executive in 2020, continues to personally fire white male hires as part of the company's efforts to improve diversity. It's abuse.
“I believe that if we had more women in senior management positions, this kind of behavior would stop,” she explained. In Europe, 44% of financial services directors appointed in 2023 were women. In the UK, this figure dropped to her 33%. Meanwhile, Copper's board of directors is all male.
Immediately after the sushi incident, Copper said: financial times that We have begun an internal investigation into our event approval process. (Copper did not react) luck'Requesting comments. )
But in reality, the entire financial industry needs to check itself. Its CEOs have been the most vocal supporters of the in-office mandate. It is their responsibility to ensure that the toxic culture of the past does not return to the office.
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Oriana Rosa Royle
@oriannarosa
orianna.royle@fortune.com
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