Valentine's Day sexism row erupts as HSBC staff offered laptops 'for him' and kitchen appliances 'for her'

Special deal sparks anger from HSBC staff in Hong Kong and in London

The special deal has sparked anger from HSBC staff in Hong Kong and in London (Reuters)

HSBC staff in Hong Kong have been offered discounted laptops “for him” but hoovers and kitchen appliances “for her” to mark Valentine’s Day.

The special deal has angered HSBC staff in Hong Kong and in London, where it was posted in an internal chatroom, according to a source who shared images of it with Reuters.

The multi-page advert, described as an "HSBC Staff Offer" and apparently produced by an external company, offers discounts on a range of goods to Hong Kong workers at Europe's biggest bank.

On pages decorated with pink heart drawings, the 'FOR HIM' section offers discount laptop computers as well as a GoPro camera and wireless headphones, while the 'FOR HER' gifts include five different vacuum cleaners, a blender and a kitchen water tap.

“The offer is from a third party source who manage their own marketing materials. HSBC is committed to gender diversity in the workplace,” a spokesperson for the bank said.

The controversy over the sexist implications of the advertising offer comes amid a widening debate about sexism and gender pay disparity in banking and wider industry.

HSBC disclosed in December that its gender pay gap, which measures the difference between the average hourly salary of men and women, grew to 61 per cent in the year to April 2018, up from 59 per cent a year earlier.

The lender - which employs more than 40,000 people in Britain - had the widest gender pay gap of any large British company in 2017.

HSBC said the large gap reflected the fact there were fewer women in senior roles and more in junior ones - mirroring an industry-wide problem.

The bank said it was taking steps to bridge the gap, including targeting an increase in the ratio of women in senior management roles to 30 per cent by 2020, from 23 per cent today.

Public and private sector employers with more than 250 UK workers are required to publish annual gender pay gap figures as part of government rules that came into force in 2017. It is intended to pressure companies into improving the recruitment and promotion of women into senior roles and closing their gender pay gap.

Additional reporting by Reuters