For much of the business world, the unrest is a sideshow: tabloid fodder rather than an event with the potential to upset the corporate policy landscape. The influence of the CBI has been declining for decades. Its campaign against Brexit angered many in the ruling Conservative Party and prompted the use of an expletive by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2018. Now that the group is in need, it has few friends to turn to. British media coverage of the controversy focused on whether this coup would end an ancient institution. The words “existential crisis” are often used.
It would be unfortunate if an umbrella group for 190,000 businesses responsible for helping to set ethical standards could itself be seen to be breaching it. The CBI has strongly supported the government’s recent efforts to address sexual harassment in the workplace; A submission full of recommendations on its website reaches 2,500 words.
The termination of Tony Danker, the director general, follows an independent investigation into complaints of workplace misconduct. (Danker, while acknowledging that he made his colleagues uncomfortable, said many of the allegations against him were distorted and he was shocked to be dismissed without the opportunity to put his position forward.) The second phase of the inquiry will examine the allegations of sexual misconduct. out of more than a dozen women the Guardian reported on this month, none were related to Danker. The most serious concern is a woman who claims she was raped by a senior colleague at a summer boat party in 2019. She told the newspaper that a CBI manager advised her to seek counseling instead. continue the matter.
The images suggested by the reports, of testosterone-fueled white-collar managers putting women with alcohol on booze cruises, are like something from another era: reminiscent of a scene from Mad Men or The Apartment. That can’t be an accident. The CBI itself is something of a relic. Formed in 1965 by a merger of old employer bodies, its heyday was in the 1960s and ’70s, when industrial policy was a tripartite carving between the government, the bosses’ lobby and the Trades Union Congress. Aside from political mistakes, its influence has weakened as the economy changes, production declines and multinationals increasingly make their own lobbying efforts.
Before the 1980s society was very much male-driven, alcohol-fueled and sexually exploitative. At the time, this culture was often presented as harmless entertainment, reflected in the smutty comedies of the Carry On films (later used by the Equal Opportunities Commission to raise awareness about sexual harassment). Britain, like much of the world after the rise of the MeToo movement, is subject to a re-examination of its past, after a series of famous television personalities from that era were found sexually abusive.
A question for the UK is whether the CBI is simply an antediluvian holdover or a reflection of more widely held attitudes. For the government, keen to attract investment in the post-Brexit era, the case makes a poor advertisement for the inability of UK business culture to evolve alongside changes in social norms.
The speed with which many companies are distancing themselves from the group shows that some owners are at least alert to the reputational risks. However, it is easy to conclude that the episode is an aberration. Surveys show that at least 40% of women experience harassment at work, according to the Fawcett Society. The group, which campaigns for gender equality, says Britain has a widespread culture of sexual harassment in the workplace, with behavior that violates women’s dignity often being treated as acceptable “insults.”
“We know this is a common story,” said the society’s chief executive officer, Jemima Olchawski, calling the alleged CBI incidents “appalling.” In 2021, the government committed to legislate a duty for employers to prevent sexual harassment. When the CBI scandal broke, a bill to protect workers was still going through parliament, where it was in danger of running out of time due to stalling tactics by opponents.
Meanwhile, the CBI is stretching of late to repair the damage. In a statement last week, it said the allegations were “damaging,” acknowledged “serious failures,” and apologized to the victims. It named former CBI Chief Economist Rain Newton-Smith as the group’s second female director general to succeed Danker, promised a root-and-branch review of the organization’s culture, governance and processes, and appointed a chief officer of the people.
It remains to be seen whether that will be enough. With an organizational psyche that appears still partly stuck in the 1970s, few will be surprised if the group proves not to be nimble enough to regain its relevance.
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This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Matthew Brooker is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering business and infrastructure outside London. A former editor and bureau chief for Bloomberg News and deputy business editor for the South China Morning Post, he is a CFA charterholder.
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