The President's Club Annual Gala - "Men Behaving Badly"

So women must now fight to make prostitution illegal Lazigirl?

I think what I find depressing in this day and age is the fact that this type of all male occasion still exists, particulary being dressed up as charity event as if that will somehow mitigate the bad behaviour of some of the guests. Now that those involved are trying to cut associations what does seem puzzling in the afttermath, is the denial that some of the lots put up for bidding during the evening, for example tea with Mark Carney at the Bank of England, or similar with Boris Johnson, apparently didn't exist as they had no knowledge of them.

Some have criticised the expose by the FT journalists as it has resulted in some of the charities turning down the money, nevertheless I think it's not unreasonable to expect charities not to accept money that has derived from someone else's discomfort. I agree with Day 6, a mix of male and female waiters, appropriately dressed would have made the whole evening far more acceptable, but The President's Club promoted it as something along the lines of "the most un PC event of the year" which set the tone

Overall I blame the agency for not being completely honest with the girls hired. The gig should have been presented to them thus, pointing out that they would be wearing suggestive clothing, they may be hit upon by some of the guests and be able to cope with that but perhaps they didn't because such clarity would mean they would show there was a mild element of pimping involved. However, at least the women could have made a fully informed choice as to whether they wanted to do it or not. Hence, my comment about the derisory sum of £150 for a 4pm to 2am shift. Yes it is a lot compared to say a shift in McDonalds, but not for what was expected in this instance, surely some compensation should be built in to put up with gross conduct.

Unfortunately the criticsm has been conflated with the over the top "Me Too" campaign in what does appear to be a witch hunt against men per se. I think it's just as obnoxious for women to be pawing young men in a similar situation as Grandma 2213 mentioned above. In fact anyone who thinks it's okay to grope staff is a sex pest as far as I'm concerned.

For those who wondered how much the tickets were I read £2,000 per head.

I think the whole episode is distasteful, but surely just reading the 'dress code' should have rung bells with these girls.

What I want to know is, if the charities won't accept the money, where will it go?

I also agree with easybee. There are so many unanswered questions. The MP who left early originally just said he left early, the 'uncomfortable' only came in a day later.

Many posters don't seem to be aware that all the girls had a briefing and were told that it any of the men became 'handy' they should immediately go to the people who were supervising and tell them. I haven't heard that any of them did.

I can understand them simply signing the agreement.

Please will someone define the actual 'groping' which occurred? So far I have heard that a man held a girl's hand and another put his hand on a girls waist. My definition of groping is worse than that.

There has been a great deal of emotive language but very few facts. I know someone who throws accusations around all over the place but if you listen there are never any examples of the behaviour mentioned. It is very easy to brew up a storm against someone without actually giving examples of what they are supposed to have done.

The reported did not even give an instance of what happened to her, just said it also happened to her.

Please someone, list the things people have complained about which happened to them, not to someone else.

I too doubt if anyone in today's world is as naive as some are portraying these women, I was pretty naive at their age but would have known how to deal with such a situation. Those black high heels would have come in very useful!

Gillybob they couldn't 'speak up' as they'd signed non-disclosure agreements and could therefore have been prosecuted. These documents were put in front of them, last minute, unread (Not allowed) and they were not given a copy. All of that should be illegal.

Surely the reporter signed too? Will she be prosecuted ?

I notice that in 6 pages (standard Gnet rate) no-one has posted a link to the actual Financial Times story.

How many of you have actually read it?

ww.ft.com/content/075d679e-0033-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5?emailId=5a68123e57ffa00004197003&segmentId=22011ee7-896a-8c4c-22a0-7603348b7f22

There is so much that is wrong about this story. I, too, am very surprised at posters here appearing to condone it.

I too find this event outdated & sleazy BUT I heard several of the girls interviewed on the radio saying they do it happily because it pays well- they get free drinks all night & they have done it many times before.
All male events are surely totally outdated but when I go to the rugby at Twickenham there are always pretty girls giving out leaflets for lap dancing clubs etc.to the crowds going in . I presume it happens at football matches too.
I did ask a girl once why on earth she would do it & she said ' come along with your husband- it's all in good fun' Needless to say I didn't & he sure wasn't going!!
I have also been to some hen events where the strippergram was groped & had to fight his way out!( DiL hen do for one!!). Women can be just as bad en masse I'm afraid.
I would suggest that of this event had not been a charity 'do' we would never have heard about it.

Sorry, first link didn't work. This one should:

www.ft.com/content/075d679e-0033-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5?emailId=5a68123e57ffa00004197003&segmentId=22011ee7-896a-8c4c-22a0-7603348b7f22

What I do find disturbing is that every person at this event is being labelled as a lecherous creep - surely not every man who attended behaved in this way? Any man who thinks women are there to be groped and insulted deserves to have his accessories pegged on the washing line, but if I had been asked to wear skimpy clothes and matching knickers and sign a disclaimer, at whatever stage of the event (and I did a fair bit of waitressing when a student) I would have been out of that door like a shot.
I also can't see what the point is of returning money - so where is it going to go now? The event is disbanded and will no longer be held, and the money that would have helped GOSH and other charities is being 'given back'. To whom, and to what purpose?

I suggest that for the next Men Only do they hired waiters!

Pity the charity will be no longer, they raised a lot of money for a good cause.
As for the girls, .... come on, .... it is no big deal, nobody got raped or hurt, ....just write it down to experience. And if it really was so awful, why did you not complain at the time?

A

Nobody made them do it and girls are pretty aware of what goes on. Hald of them dress like that when they go out anyway.

I was often offered work that I did ot take because I felt it beneath me, the casino that wantd me to wear their uniform, which was very short and no knickers.......the antique dealer who wanted me to move into flat above the shop and not let his wife know I was there, there were lots of opportunities when I was young and lovely.

Now I am old and poor, I wonder if I missed out. A cousin who became a page 3 girl is married to her second millionaire!!! It seems to me that life offers various opportunities and we can take or decline them, rich old men, well I would just love one now but I don't have the appeal that I once had.

Women have to stop pretending that they are unwilling victims and acknowledge the power they have, it is natural and wealth takes the place of sex appeal as we age. I could get a fabulous toy boy now if I was wealthy......and wouldn't I love that chance.

Has anyone ever been to a girls night out with the entertainment being something like the Gladiators? Or seen some of the horrible bawdy hen night antics that go on in some places? I think this po faced puritanicalism is totally hypocritical. I don't disagree that things have to change, and no doubt they will, but to fire a man from his job for attending a charity auction evening? Ridiculous. Do these charities not need the large amounts of money that has been raise? Obviously not so there's no need to hold any more men only charity auctions anyway! Mother Teresa never refused any donation, and she knew very well that some of them came from very questionable sources - I don't hear any comments about that ...

I sincerely hope that the arrogant rich b*stards who think women are still "chattels" to be bought, sold and traded are named and shamed somewhere in the social media world.

Doubtless it will happen......

Sad to say that, the clue to what sort of night it would be was there ‘ Men only ‘ like silly little schoolboys some of these so called men have to group together to get away with the pathetic ,seedy, outdated behaviour that they would like to pass off as a bit of harmless fun! Nothing is fun if ones ‘fun’ is achieved by the use of or belittling of another section of society!Shame on them for thinking that this is in anyway acceptable. If these young woman were told what to expect then that would have be their choice to accept or not those conditions of employment . The danger & seediness of an event such as this lies in the decit & the pathetic attitude of supposedly intelligent grown men, shame on them !!!!

I agree 100% with Terribul, wrong on so many levels.

I wrote up thread that I would be very interested to know how many of the charities actually had some of their big wigs at the event? Quite a few I would imagine. They’ll be keeping very quiet about that though won’t they?

Wasn't the clue in the words "Men Only"?
I don't think anyone should lose their job over this. Of course it's distasteful, seedy and I'm glad the President's Club is no more - but nobody was forced to do this.
One aspect of the reporting I didn't like was the stress on some of the women being "students earning pocket money" as though it's somehow more acceptable for the "bait" to be a woman who is not a student (which is newspaper dog-whistle language for "nice middle class girl")

Definitely against that sort of behaviour but do not believe these so called innocents didn't know the sort of thing they were letting themselves in for - especially in this present climate.

My late FIL went to many Men Only events when he worked in the city. He was howeveran old fashioned gentleman who thought women should be treated with respect. He did sometimes admit that many of the men he met were boring old farts. That was nearly 50 years ago. Things should have changed. I am shocked at how many women on here think the girls were in some way to blame. It's disgusting.

I heard somewhere on the media this morning that a bookshop/seller has removed all the David Williams stock from their shelves and plan to disassociate with him. I believe he was another attendee who 'saw nothing untoward'. Think I also heard that the MP who attended (more than one perhaps?) stayed for quite a while before he became 'uncomfortable'. I haven't heard or read anything of the cause of his discomfort.

If a girl appears naked and stands next to a man he has no right to touch her unless she agrees to it.

Many of the girls will be students trying to pay their debts by waiting on men who mostly had a free education. (irony intended)
I agree with many of those above I was shocked that this sort of nonsense still goes on post-Weinstein and government minister scalps which were taken recently.
It's all very 70's and quite pathetic.

This, from an article today in The Telegraph sums it up for me :
Guests, who paid £2,000 a pop for the gropers’ gala, were there to waggle their willy and wallet. The whole “elite boys together” ethos encouraged laddishness verging on puerile schoolboyishness. Add young women in heels being paid £150 to pour drinks while listening to their bilge and the results were… utterly pathetic. I can think of no better word.