When Will MeToo Britain Cancel the Last Dinosaurs?
Sex scandals mask some of the progress the UK has made in narrowing the gender gap.
A 2022 march in London demanding reforms on child care, parental leave and flexible working.
Source: Future Publishing
The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born. Go by the headlines, and the UK business world might seem to be an unreconstructed playground for male sex pests who are stuck in a time warp. Look at the data, though, and a different picture emerges. Surveys suggest Britain is making steady, if unspectacular, progress on gender equality and the country compares relatively well with international peers. How to reconcile this apparent contradiction?
To recap: The nation’s biggest business lobby, the Confederation of British Industry, is fighting for survival after a series of sexual-misconduct allegations against senior figures spurred a wave of defections by major companies. The CBI replaced its director general in April and promised a root-and-branch review. The pressure hasn’t let up. On Friday, Tesco Plc said John Allan will step down as its chairman after the Guardian newspaper reported four instances of inappropriate behavior when he was president of the CBI. Allan had denied three of the allegations and apologized for the fourth.