Why aren’t we talking about it? How are black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) colleagues paid differently from their white counterparts? The BAME pay gap attempts to show just that. But (and it’s a big but), while compulsory gender pay gap reporting dominated headlines earlier this year, the BAME pay gap was largely unreported – […]

If you’re an HR professional or manager looking for practical advice about workplace harassment, discrimination and bullying that you can implement straightaway, attend a Tell Jane seminar. Whether attending a webinar from the comfort of your desk or coming along to a breakfast briefing, you’ll come away equipped with an increased understanding and top tips […]

What is the glass cliff and the glass ceiling? Let’s take a closer look at these two phenomena often referenced when discussing discrimination in the workplace. The glass ceiling was coined by Marilyn Loden in 1978 and is a metaphor for the invisible barrier to success put in the way of women and marginalised groups […]

A business guide to bullying. Bullying is toxic to an organisation; it drives down performance and damages reputation – not to mention the irrevocable impact to the victim. So how do we tackle bullying and prevent it happening in the first place? Here are my top five tips: Culture How do you define your workplace […]

I am asked this question a lot. There are three parties involved in a case of workplace bullying: The perpetrator The obvious candidate for blame. They’re the one carrying out the bullying after all. And as discussed in my previous blog, the main motivator for their humiliation and intimidation of another is insecurity and a […]

What constitutes workplace bullying? Bullying isn’t defined in the same way as harassment. Primarily, it’s not against the law. Harassment is an illegal practice that involves unwanted behaviour or comments relating to an individual’s protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010; for example, someone’s sex, sexuality, gender, age, race, religion, beliefs, disability,  marital […]

Here’s what you can do about it: Five top tips to stop harassment at work. I read an article in a popular broadsheet recently that advised people what to do if they were being harassed at work. On paper the advice was good, but there were no practical steps for the employee to take. So […]

Inclusive workplaces take an employee-eyed-view of the world. We are not all the same, so why should we expect our people to adhere to a rigid 9 to 5, Monday to Friday working pattern, embrace the open plan office or enthuse about the weekly team social? In its basic terms, “inclusivity” means the inclusion of […]

Yes, it does happen. I recently received a call to the Tell Jane hotline from an employee reporting a male colleague for taking a photograph underneath a female colleague’s skirt. Upskirting does happen in the workplace. This revelation is often met with both shock and horror at such an outrageous act of violation being carried […]

Intersectionality has become so commonplace it may even be accurately described as a buzzword. But an understanding and appreciation of the term is important. Intersectionality may seem a relatively new term, but it was first coined in 1989 by civil rights and critical race scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw. Intersectionality is used to explain how people can […]

How do you know if harassment exists in your workplace? And do you want to know? With increasing awareness of workplace harassment and mounting pressure from those external to but with a stake in your organisation, it is simply not good practice nor business sense to assume “sexual harassment doesn’t exist in our organisation.” “This […]

Decoding why women are so woefully misrepresented in business. Here are my responses to FTSE 350 execs. Outrage in response to the excuses of FTSE 350 companies for their lack of senior female colleagues, as revealed in the Department for Business’s report, has been widespread. The beliefs and assumptions that women are not fit for […]