Access to porn in the workplace and the use of lap-dancing clubs as meeting places could lead to discrimination against women in the office, a new report has claimed.
The Fawcett Society report, Corporate Sexism: The Sex Industry’s Infiltration of the Modern Workplace, has revealed that many companies continue to remain complacent in the use of such clubs by male employees.
Indeed, some firms have even funded trips to such venues through expenses, while more than 50,000 workplaces display pornographic material for sale.
Furthermore, 20 per cent of male respondents admitted to accessing pornography while they were at work.
Kat Banyard, a Fawcett Society researcher, said that the sex industry was a "major threat to women’s equality at work".
She added that some lap-dancing clubs were marketed as "ideal" venues in which to host meetings or entertain clients.
"Their use in a work context discriminates against female employees and undermines women’s status at work," Ms Banyard stated.
Commenting on the news, the Guardian’s Rahila Gupta said the culture detailed in the report is both a "cause and a consequence of holding women back".
