Female executive claims: 'City firm fired me for being a woman' Ms Westerlind, who moved to the UK from Sweden in 2007, claims the company "dug up" the recording of the call three months later in order to find a reason to fire her. The company found her guilty of misconduct in December and she was fired, while the male colleague was also found guilty of misconduct but was let off with a written warning. Ms Westerlind appealed against the decision in a hearing in January, when she was told a different sanction was imposed on the colleague because he possessed "business critical skills ... namely the ability to speak Norwegian." The company denied the decision was sex discrimination, saying Ms Westerlind had shown "no remorse" over her alleged comments. However, Ms Westerind said she speaks conversational Norweigan as well as Swedish, and that she was only treated "less favourably" because of her gender. Her lawyers have lodged the claim at London Central Employment Court and the case is set to be heard in October. She will claim she was the victim of an excessively male environment and her sacking was "unduly harsh and unfair" as a proper investigation was not conducted. She said: "In the UK they are always taking about equal rights in the workplace, but it doesn't seem to be the case in practice over here. There are so many examples of women in the office being treated differently. Unfortunately you get used to it, that's how it works, you have to look the other way and not get upset every time it happens. I have spoken to Norwegian clients for the last three year, and never had a problem doing business with them. Then suddenly I'm not fluent enough, whereas he is. Me being fired wasn't about my language skills, I believe it was about my gender. Jahad Rahman, a partner at Rahman Lowe Solicitors, who is representing Ms Westerlind, said: "We have seen a rise in the number of women working in the City making claims of sex discrimination against. Gender discrimination in the City seems to be a cultural problem and it is important that these are addressed and women are not victimised by big corporate companies. Mr Cruddas founded CMC Markets, which began as a foreign exchange broker, in 1989 with £10,000 and has since become one of the top three spread betting companies. Last week Mr Cruddas, 59, won a libel action against a Sunday paper over claims which prompted him to resign last year. A spokesman for CMC Markets confirmed Ms Westerlind had brought a case against them but refused to comment "while legal proceedings were still ongoing."