Friday 26th January 2018

Wind Watch
By Richard Heap

Disgusting. Shocking. Unsurprising. The exposé by the Financial Times of sexual harassment of hostesses at a men-only charity gala dinner in London has sent shockwaves through the business world, and rightly so. It shows that we cannot simply dismiss such stories as ‘things done by top Hollywood film producers’.

The hostesses reported that they repeatedly found men’s hands up their skirts; that they were pulled onto attendees’ laps; and so on. It wasn’t an easy read, and I can’t imagine how it felt to be in the midst of it. And yet, I didn’t find it very surprising.

I started my career writing about UK commercial property, and I attended events with some of the people at this dinner. I never saw anything that extreme – they knew we were journalists! – but we all knew about the hookers touting for business at the annual Mipim conference in Cannes, both on the street and on Twitter. I can only guess how many talented women were put off working in property over the years because of its seedy reputation.

Put simply, we thought it was wrong but we turned a blind eye. If we are to learn anything from the Weinstein scandal and #MeToo, though, it is that ignoring the kind of harassment seen in Mayfair is not okay. And woe betide any business or industry that tries to hide anything like this under the carpet. It is potentially ruinous.

Likewise, we should not think this is an issue for just the property sector or just the super-rich. I spoke to a female friend yesterday who said she experienced the same sort of thing during regional business events where she waitressed 20 years ago. Is it ancient history? Not really. This was frowned upon then but people did it, and I see little reason why much would have changed since.

And, unfortunately, the problem doesn’t stop with the event itself. Most people I’ve seen have condemned the harassment, but there is a sizeable group of apologists out there. Readers who ask why this is front-page news; and complain about the spirit of puritanism they think it represents: ‘They were all adults. There’s no issue!’

No, there is. We can’t dismiss this is a bit of fun. It's an example – albeit an extreme one – of a culture of business networking and socialising in male-dominated industries that ends up explicitly or implicitly excluding those who find it uncomfortable, both women and men. It is a reminder that all of us have a responsibility to create a culture that is supportive and inclusive.

This is where we get to wind. In my experience, the wind sector is welcoming. The stars in this industry don’t have the same aura of untouchability as those in UK property, for example. But it doesn’t change the fact that women are a minority of the people we usually see at events – either on stage or in the audience – and made up only 15% of our Top 100 Power People 2017 report in November.

There is still more to be done to show that wind is open to all. We identified two ways in our Women’s Power List report last March, which we published in partnership with Green Giraffe.

The first is to highlight to girls the range of great careers available to women in wind; and the second is to implement policies that can help to attract women and retain them. This is key to embedding diversity throughout the whole of the wind industry, and building a reputation for being a sector in which everyone can work safely.

I am yet to hear about overt harassment in the wind sector of the type seen at The Presidents Club dinner. If you have, please say so. But it is a reminder that businesses and their staff are judged as much for their moral performance as their financial.

And frankly, if you can't treat others as you'd want your own family members to be treated, then you deserve all the scorn you get.