By Rachel Stevenson
London - "Had cancer, been a pain and now pregnant." These were the damning words with which an executive at Schroder Securities described a colleague, Julie Bower, in an email, leading to a £1,4-million (about R15-million) payout from the company for sexual discrimination.
But banks and other financial institutions could soon be installing monitoring systems to catch and stop sexist remarks before matters get to court.
Autonomy, the software developer whose technology is used by governments to monitor possible terrorist activity, has transferred its know-how to protect banks and City institutions from the growing tide of sexual harassment and discrimination cases.
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Stop offensive practices becoming entrenched The company's Aungate division has launched a sexism detection programme that automatically alerts companies to sexual harassment and discrimination within the organisation, by monitoring emails, phone calls and instant messaging systems.
The company said it had put its technology to this use at the request of corporate customers, who fear the embarrassment and costs of high-profile sex discrimination cases.
There have been a number of claims taking on the macho culture of city institutions where women are passed over for promotion, paid less than male colleagues and endure offensive comments about their appearance.
Merrill Lynch is being sued for £7,5-million in compensation, the biggest claim of its kind. Stephanie Villalba, a former senior banker, claims she was the victim of unequal pay and victimisation at the bank, such as being ordered to serve as a stewardess while travelling on an executive jet.
Aungate hopes that automatically detecting inappropriate behaviour, so a company may act on it immediately, will stop offensive practices becoming entrenched in the company's culture.
So sophisticated that it does not rely on keywords
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