The causes for this I cannot present here, largely because they are irrelevant, but also because they are exceedingly subtle and it would require a great deal of space to delve into them. At any rate, a critic can observe this behavior himself. In any situation, men will behave differently around women; a man who possesses a no-nonsense demeanor around other men will become more playful and friendly around women. In short, a man will not concentrate on his work when women are around as devotedly as he would if there were only other men nearby, because he will devote some of his energy into impressing the woman, even if one of them is married or for some other reason unattainable, or indeed if he does not find himself attracted to her.
The second reason is a peculiarity of modern workplace relations growing out of the late twentieth century. In the modern workplace, the feelings and opinions of the workers have become tremendously important, not only as a means of raising workplace moral, but also as a way of avoiding litigation. The legal definition of a "hostile workplace environment" has become shadier and less defined, making it more difficult for an employer to safeguard himself against legal action should one of his employees feel that he is not making the proper efforts to provide a safe and hospitable working environment. Because we are all subjective, and we all feel a certain pride in whatever group we may belong to, be it race, gender, religion, nationality, or what have you, it is much simpler for an employer to avoid offending an employee who is of the same race, gender, religion, etc., as the employer. This is not to say that an employer would purposely do or say something his employees would find offensive, but any less than innocuous offhand remark now has the potential to result in a lawsuit. There was a time when this was not true, that an offended employee had no recourse but to quit, but that time has passed.