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A millionaire City boss being sued for sex discrimination joked about locking women and dogs in a car boot and told colleagues that Ferraris were cheaper to run than blondes.
Mark Lowe, 59, head of investment firm Nomos Capital, made the remarks in sexist and sexually explicit emails he sent to his employees.
Jordan Wimmer, 29, an executive at the company, who is claiming £4million damages, said the barrage of daily sexist jokes left her feeling demeaned and led to her suffering a breakdown.
A selection of the emails Mr Lowe sent to Miss Wimmer and other women staff were read to Central London Employment Tribunal.
One email from May 7, 2008, titled “Who is your real friend?” read: “Put your dog and your girlfriend in the boot of your car for an hour and then see who is happy to see you.”
When asked by Alisdair Simpson, for Miss Wimmer, if he thought the joke was demeaning to women, Mr Lowe disagreed and said he thought it was “funny, but not especially”.
Mr Simpson replied: “You don't think putting your girlfriend in the boot of your car is demeaning?”
Mr Lowe said he had never put a girlfriend in the boot of a car, adding the joke was “not especially demeaning”.
In another email titled, “Never hurt a fly”, the punchline was: “The moral of the story is, whenever a fly goes down, some pussy is in serious danger.”
Mr Lowe said he had never made the jokes up himself but only forwarded emails sent to him. The multi-millionaire said it was commonplace for bankers to send such emails. He said: “We're all adults. I believe everyone's business associates do the same nowadays.” Mr Lowe also denied making a remark about how he preferred Miss Wimmer's “full figure” while telling her not to lose any weight.
Miss Wimmer, who earned almost £600,000 a year at the firm, had told a tribunal the remarks led to feelings of self-loathing and triggered a recurrence of eating disorders. Mr Lowe denied commenting on her figure but said he had expressed a concern about her weight loss because of her health.
Miss Wimmer, a Canadian who lives in Chelsea, has claimed for sex discrimination, unlawful deduction of wages, unfair constructive dismissal and disability discrimination. The tribunal continues.
Reader views (15)
I would estimate that most people with access to a work email would have received all of these jokes at some time. I have received them several times. That does not mean the sender is personally advocating the contents of the joke. This woman needs to get a major reality check.
- Dannyp, Egham, 18/11/2009 08:45
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What do you call a joke that isn't at someone or something's expense -
Answer - there's no such thing so it has no name.
Targeting an individual with a joke - any joke - that belittles or demeans is wrong. That's malicious intent. Untargeted banter is not (unless claimed to be so by someone on the make, that is - lets face it, people ALWAYS joke and make with light banter amongst friends and associates so there's always going to be rich pickings for the "oh woe, they're picking on me and I need compensation" types).
- Rogan, Irving, 18/11/2009 04:28
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She shouldn't have to get a new job. By speaking up, she's ensuring that the problem ends. I applaud that.
- Natalie, Oregon, USA, 18/11/2009 04:13
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£600,000 + bonuses and no sense of humour.
What is this country turning into ?
- Mr S.Port, London, 18/11/2009 00:44
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for 600k i'll take the butt of jokes, heh
- Andrew, hounslow, 17/11/2009 22:06
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What a joke, but not such a dumb blonde! Be careful what jokes you forward to colleagues, if British show a sense of humour someone will have to pay.
- Suzzy, UK, 17/11/2009 22:02
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Who is paying for all this nonsense? It's just playground stuff that adults should be able to sort out among themselves. The sums involved are an absolute insult to ordinary working people who actually go out and earn their money rather than expecting millions for nothing at all. Reading about highly paid lawyers and court time etc being wasted on these on-the-make 'executives' is sick making.
- Nick Granger, Chelsea, 17/11/2009 21:59
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I think the jokes are sexist I wonder if the idiot(lowe) has a daughter but 4 million thats a bit to much
- Harold, chicago u s a, 17/11/2009 20:13
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What about people who are stalked, why are we bothering with this. Of course, people have a right to carry out their work, but what about those harassed in the streets and at home. At least this lady has a brain, and could move on somewhere else. Not everyone has that opportunity, and more than that she already has lots of money. Is a waste of time even printing the reports on her, it will just encourage others to do the same and in the long run make it more difficult for women to get jobs.
- London Lady, london, 17/11/2009 20:01
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I don't understand how the jokes have anything to do with her dismissal and deduction of wages?
- Kelly, London, 17/11/2009 18:57
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If she got upset over what has been reported so far, how on earth did she manage to hold down a job paying £600K? Wouldn`t want her for my boss.
- Brian G, Norfolk Gorleston, 17/11/2009 18:33
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Interesting that she only made the claim after losing her job. For £500,000+ a year, my boss can make as many blonde jokes as he likes!
- D. Miner, London, UK, 17/11/2009 18:29
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Another one trying to win the compensation jackpot.
The sexism here is that a bloke gets fired he can only claim peanuts. As soon as it's a woman then it's bonanza time.
If you don't like the atmosphere in the City, go and work in Tescos, dear.
- Tony The Trader, The City, 17/11/2009 17:14
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Why did n't she get another job?
- Anglo, Sussex UK, 17/11/2009 16:11
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Aside from the "jokes" being unfunny and not work place acceptable they are no worse than one would hear on Mock the Week or the like. If Miss Wimmer was to hear such jokes on the tv would this also result in her suffering an attack of self-loathing and eating disorders?
- Rob, London, 17/11/2009 16:10
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