No more footy chat in the office

The BBC reports:

Chat about football or cricket in the workplace should be curtailed, a management body has warned.

Chartered Management Institute head Ann Francke said sports banter can exclude women and lead to laddish behaviour such as chat about sexual conquests.

“A lot of women, in particular, feel left out,” she told the BBC’s Today programme.

“They don’t follow those sports and they don’t like either being forced to talk about them or not being included.”

“I have nothing against sports enthusiasts or cricket fans – that’s great,” she said.

“But the issue is many people aren’t cricket fans,” she added, arguing bosses should crack down on sports banter.

Ms Francke is concerned that discussing football and, for example, the merits of video assistant refereeing (VAR) can disproportionately exclude women and divide offices.

What a load of sexist drivel. She assumes women are not interested in sport and then claims because of this, it creates a hostile workplace if you chat about the weekend sports results in the office.