A tribunal has ruled in favour of a woman who claimed she was harassed by her male employer, who is said to have called the middle-aged woman a "good girl".
The employment tribunal judge ruled that the language was sexual harassment and said that "language evolves over time" and though the term may have seemed "harmless once, it is now 'demeaning'."
Judge Gary Tobin's verdict comes after a woman has successfully sued a £3billion company over the remarks that were ruled as sexist.
Frances Fricker, 39, is now in line for compensation after boss Giuseppe Ajroldi continually called her a "good girl".
The tribunal heard Fricker had repeatedly objected to being called a "good girl" and that Ajroldi's "condescending behaviour 'degraded and humiliated' accounts executive Ms Fricker who complained that she was an 'independent woman'".
Ajroldi is said to have also mocked Ms Fricker's weight by saying she looked "fat" in photos and once tried to kiss and touch her on a business trip.
Fricker complained to bosses at the international business consultancy firm Gartner, and was told she had flirted back to Ajorldi.
After being forced to resign, Fricker is in line to win compensation after suing Gartner for sexual harassment, with the tribunal hearing Ajroldi was part of a "toxic" and male-dominated culture at Gartner.
The panel heard Ajroldi "frequently" referred to Fricker as a "good girl" and were also told of one incident where Ajroldi would make Fricker feel "degraded and humiliated" by "puffing out his cheeks" and pretended "to be overweight".
In texts between Fricker and Ajroldi, the panel heard that she had responded with a facepalm emoji alongside the female gender symbol on one occasion of Ajroldi calling her a "good girl".
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She added "I'm an independent woman for goodness sake," to which Ajroldi reportedly "played dumb" and responded with "good girl is not appropriate?"
The tribunal also heard that Ajroldi "insisted" in joining Fricker on an overnight business trip where he was rebuffed after making "unwanted sexual advances" towards her including attempts to "kiss and touch" her in the hotel room.
Creepy behaviour continued when Ajroldi said it would be "funny" if he organised a date with her "disguised as someone else" on a dating app she used, Daily Mail reported.
Fricker resigned in October 2019 where she told her bosses she could "no longer tolerate" working in "a hostile environment".
Judge Tobin said: "We find Ms Fricker was sexually harassed and treated less favourably because of her rejection of the harassment."
A corporate spokesperson for Gartner said: "We are extremely disappointed in the ruling of the UK Employment Tribunal. We do not believe the evidence supports the ruling and we are currently determining potential next steps, including whether we will appeal this decision."
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