Charlotte Proudman is a human rights lawyer in the UK. Imagine her surprise when she received this private message from a fellow legal professional on her LinkedIn account:
"Charlotte, delighted to connect, I appreciate this is probably horrendously politically incorrect but that is a stunning picture,” wrote 57 year-old Alexander Carter-Silk, whom Proudman has never met. "You definitely win the prize for the best LinkedIn picture I have ever seen."
Although Proudman initially considered simply deleting the message, she decided to reach out to other female professionals on social media to see whether they were similarly approached.
To Carter-Silk, she had this to say:
"Alex, I find your message offensive. I am on LinkedIn for business purposes, not to be approached about my physical appearance or to be objectified by sexist men.”
It seems many people are treating LinkedIn like it's a dating app rather than a networking site for professionals, as many women contacted Proudman to voice their support over "rampant sexism" across all sectors.
Carter-Silk pleaded in his defence that he was simply remarking on "the professional quality" of Proudman's photo - sure he was - while his firm raced to assert its own integrity and commitment to gender equality blah blah. Sounds like some swift backwards shuffling to me.
But Proudman has also been subjected to criticism, with some accusing her of failing to take a compliment at face value. Some have even accused her of ruining her career by biting "the hand that feeds you," i.e. the male-dominated legal sector.
I bet lawyer Amal Alamuddin - aka Mrs Clooney - would have a few choice words to say about this story...
Can we agree that LinkedIn is not the place to pick up hot professional chicks?
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