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'It's not gender specific': readers on workplace sports banter

'It's not gender specific': readers on workplace sports banter. We asked you to share your views and experiences of sports chatter in the office. Here’s what some of you said

Ann Francke, head of the Chartered Management Institute has suggested firms try and curtail sports banter in the office because it can exclude women and lead to ‘laddish behaviour’. Guardian readers share their thoughts.

‘Personally I don’t see an issue with banter’

I work in an open plan office with a roughly 50/50 split of men and women. Some of the men talk about sport. They rib each other sometimes when various teams win or lose. I don’t think it excludes people, it’s what they enjoy and like to talk about. Some of my female colleagues also like football and tennis and they join in on the banter about things like ‘that player was rubbish, your team was useless, what a goal’ etc.

Personally I don’t see an issue with banter. I think Ann Francke came across really badly (I listened to the programme) and made women look too sensitive and some of the men this morning were joking about not being able to talk about sport in front of women! Nicki, London

‘I have no recollection of the female colleagues being or feeling “ostracised” because of the football chat’

I have found the comments extremely sexist. I have been a season ticket holder since the late 70s. Although I have been retired for some time I have no recollection of the female colleagues being or feeling “ostracised” because of the football chat in the office. Many women who did not attend games still had an interest and were able to join the chat. Granted when I started watching football there were not a lot of women attending matches but certainly from the 90s onward I worked beside more and more women who attended matches too and could obviously join any chat.

Now we have many many women playing football as well as going to games. Does Ann Francke think women in the office only talk of shopping, or soaps or other ‘female’ topics (please note the sarcasm)? Are men ostracised in the workplace when women talk of these things? Terry, female, retired bank employee, Edinburgh

‘One girl asked if we could talk about ponies and ballerinas instead’

When I started teaching business to sixth form students students 20 or so years ago I regularly used football examples until one of the few girls in a class asked if we could talk about ponies and ballerinas instead! It’s always stuck with me as a reminder. In reality however, everyone in a workplace is going to discuss what they are interested in so this is a meaningless discussion. Eddy, 51, sixth form teacher, Sussex

‘Quite a lot of men also hate the assumption they must be interested in sport’

I am a woman and a lifelong sports fan. I would start by calling the use of that vile word ‘banter’ pejorative and exclusive. If you call something ‘banter’ inherently there’s a problem. I am senior and autonomous enough to stop excess discussion of sports simply because: “OK, great, as not everyone is interested in sport, let’s talk about something else now”

I would note it is not just women who get excluded. Quite a lot of men also hate the assumption they must be interested in sport, and that seems to be a lifelong thing that raises old issues. When I entered the workplace, it was golf and rugby union. These days it would be triathlon, or the corporate half-marathon, or other things that require a lot of training time and out-of-hours participation. It is really very easy to see those as a modern way of limiting women’s progress. Ideally, it should be dealt with routinely just by it being shut down. Victoria, Germany

‘The intent of banter is not to exclude, rather to play and be lighthearted’

It all depends from place to place and personalities involved. If it crosses the line of banter to the personal, or in any way bigoted, then yes by all means crack down on the individuals. But to crack down on the whole event of bantering among colleagues is ridiculous in my view. Where will it stop? What next will be viewed as unacceptable? There are a lot of women out there who enjoy football and other sports. Not all conversations carried out in a working environment will be inclusive and the intent of banter is not to exclude, rather to play and be lighthearted. Granted some people do take it too far but those individuals should suffer the consequences rather than the entire office. Surely as adults one can choose to participate or ignore the whole episode? Cracking down and stopping something that sometimes happens organically can have adverse impacts on moral and interpersonal relationships between colleagues. Revival Nkomo, 41, works in antigen manufacturing, Milton Keynes

‘If people can have lengthy talks about football three times a day, can I sit at my desk and read?’

It’s not only women who feel ostracised by football talk. I have never, nor will I ever have any interest in football. I hear the same conversation about the same previous night’s game at least four times in a day. My problem with football discussions at work are the same as I have about smoking breaks – why should those that do not smoke not benefit from several 10 minute breaks a day? I feel the same for football fans; if they can have lengthy talks about football three times a day, can I sit at my desk and start reading? Noah, Manchester

‘Sports is not a gender specific topic’

Sports is not a gender specific topic. I have just taught my class of eight-year-olds all about how gender doesn’t play a role in what you can achieve. We talked about elite female athletes like Serena Williams and Julie Ertz. We looked at the historical treatment of women in sports – the FA disbanding the women’s game, the first female to run a marathon etc. We have girls on the ‘boys’ football team. We are trying to raise these children to see through trivial things like gender. What a shame that my class of eight- and nine-year-olds have a more sophisticated view on women and sports than the head of the Chartered Management Institute. Tom, primary school teacher, Knutsford