An ex-employee of Australian financial services firm AMP has written to senator Deborah O’Neill to share allegations of sexual misconduct she endured during her time at the company.
The move follows media coverage of similar claims against former AMP Capital chief executive Boe Pahari, who has since been demoted, International Adviser reported.
In a statement shared in the senate, according to local publication IFA, the woman said: “As a junior female employee I endured consistent and systematic harassment at AMP from men at the peer level to executive level. After speaking up, I was bullied, victimised and ultimately silenced.
“In one instance, the perpetrator was given a warning and allowed to remain,” she added.
“He also harassed another colleague, who left the industry as a result of this, and sustained sexual harassment by two managers. The other, my manager, was repeatedly promoted.”
She said that the alleged incidents “destroyed her life”.
Trail of alleged assault and harassment
The woman added that during her time at AMP she was sent “sexually explicit photos and emails” expressing a “desire to have sex” with her.
She claimed to have been the target of constant public propositioning, even in front of some of AMP’s largest clients, and was subject to severe physical harassment and was groped by a senior colleague.
In addition, she said that her manager threatened to end her career if she did not agree to meet his “sexual wishes” during a work trip, but she managed to escape the situation because of the man’s drunkenness.
After complaining, she wanted to solve the issues internally, but the woman said she was “systematically broken down, isolated and bullied” in the process.
She was then given another job with less responsibility than her previous client-facing role, but was still reporting to the same manager who had run the investigation, who she described as being “handsy”.
As a result, she left the company.