Misogyny in credit – still alive and well 

I never took the men of the credit industry for such snowflakes, but a recent ‘pile-on’ has led me to think again about my peers in the industry.  

An important part of our event cycle is to announce the opening of the nominations for the various awards’ ceremonies that we hold throughout the year. 

So, my colleague sent out an email alerting the industry that nominations for the Women in Credit Awards were open – cue one mass masculine meltdown. 

Thank you for your email  

Unfortunately, I must rule myself out on account of having a penis 

Really??? 

Look at my name! 

Hahaha! What nonsense.  

Last time I checked I was man... Please dont spam me again or I will be going to the ICO. 

Funnily I do have a question for you. Why have you sent me this email? Not sure I qualify as strong contender for a Women in Credit Award when I am male!  

Looks like you need to review your mailshots and address them appropriately, not very impressive from a media firm and a Head of Client Operations! 

Thank you for the notification. I would be grateful if you could mark your records to the effect that I am not transgender. 

These are just six of the over-the-top and unnecessary emails which were sent to my colleague. The replies were sent a prepared response, ‘The Women in Credit Awards recognise women in the industry but also the allies to the diversity & inclusion agenda. We’ve had multiple men entering the categories open for allies, such as Mentor of the Year and Colleague of the Year, and even had some winners. 

‘Therefore, my message has gone out to both men and women we’ve identified as finalists all the same.’ 

Many of the aggrieved realised they may have been a little over the top for what is an innocent marketing email. 

However, some decided to double down on their response, and it has left me asking myself several questions.  

Even in a scenario where these men received this email in error, are these responses appropriate? 

If this exchange happened in person, would any of them responded the way they did? 

And would these responses have been sent if the original email came from a man? 

Referring to genitalia, joking about being Transgender, and the overall mocking tone, revealed a rather nasty side, hiding within our industry. 

What makes it worse is the positions held by these men; CEO, managing director, CRO and COO. These men are leading companies and the sector, setting the tone for the workplace.  

There’s only one conclusion which can be sensibly drawn from this reaction. Too many men in the credit industry don’t take women seriously.  

As organisers of The Women in Credit Awards, and Women in Credit Conference, we try very hard to make space to further women’s careers in the industry and to celebrate their success.  

It has been 95 years since women were given the vote, 44 years since the UK had its first female Prime Minister, and 13 years since the equality act. There is, however, evidently still much more work to be done.