None of us know the truth of what happened between Roger Sutton and "Complainant A", yet that hasn't stopped many wondering what the resignation of the CERA chief means for the state of gender relations in the workplace in New Zealand.
Mr Sutton did not do something so bad that it would have warranted his sacking - an independent inquiry decided - so what we are left with is, on balance, he crossed a line, probably more than once. His daft actions, most probably, have cost him some of his reputation and his job. Let us hope that was a fair outcome, because we will likely never know for sure.
That said, it is baffling that someone hired into a job that requires sustained good judgement in the modern era could think using the words "honey" or "sweetie" is anything other than hugely unwise - and dirty jokes evoke nothing so much as David Brent.
READ MORE
• 'I've called women honey, and that is wrong' - CERA boss Roger Sutton quits
• 'You're telling the story, honey' - Sutton interview from the archive
In today's corporate environment, these behaviours mark a boss out as being eccentric, old fashioned, and somewhat rare. But even though the overt stuff isn't as common, it doesn't mean that workplace sexism doesn't exist - of course it does. It has simply become more subtle: it's being expressed in things like the scepticism around the long term plans of women of childbearing age. The inflexibility of work arrangements. The judgement around women with traits seen as "not very feminine".