Should noisy people be tolerated, celebrated or stifled? And are loud women particularly objectionable? Dr Annette Plaut was sacked from her post in the physics department of the University of Exeter after 29 years, and claims that the combination of her being “female and loud” led to her losing her job. She has just been awarded £101,000 for unfair dismissal. The university and the human resources department could not tolerate her volume, she said, because it “contradicts their stereotypical assumptions of how a woman should behave”.
Clearly there is more to this case than simply volume. You don’t suddenly notice overnight that your colleague has the voice of Thor, God of Thunder, after 29 years, and the university argued during the tribunal that she was dismissed for the way she dealt with two PhD students. But the “loud” argument reveals something interesting. One person’s “valued” colleague – as Plaut was described – is another’s definition of “boisterous” and “overbearing”, as she was also called. Her reaction to the tribunal outcome? “I have a naturally loud voice. As such I have no ability to sense when I am speaking loudly.” The University of Exeter has said it will appeal against the decision.
