Whistle Up A Storm?

Wolf whistles silenced

They have long been thought of as places best avoided for attractive women if they wanted to avoid the unwelcome attentions of red-blooded workmen - but now it seems the sound of wolf whistles emanating from building sites is becoming a thing of the past.

A new survey shows that three quarters of tradesmen, including roofers, plasterers and construction workers no longer believe it is appropriate.
The research found that 56% would not wolf whistle because they believe the practice is sexist and chauvinistic.
But the reasons for the changing attitude were not all so high-minded. The poll showed a further 19% would also avoid the cat call – but only because they were worried that they might be sued for sexual harassment.
They may have reason to fear official censure – last year two builders in Hertfordshire were suspended by their employer after a man accused them of wolfwhistling at his wife.
Jazz Gakhal, head of Direct Line for Business, which commissioned the poll, said: “The research reveals changing attitudes to acceptable behaviour in the workplace, with people labelling behaviour other generations might have tolerated as outdated and inappropriate.
"It appears the days of women being wolf whistled at as they pass building or construction sites are dying out. Attitudes regarding acceptable behaviour towards members of the opposite sex continue to evolve and it appears for many the wolf whistle represents a time long past.”
However the figures suggest that the ribald chorus has not yet been consigned entirely to history – with one in four still apparently not finding anything wrong with it.