The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 3 plus 3 plus 4 letter word JOBS FOR THE BOYS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
J
O
B
S
F
O
R
T
H
E
B
O
Y
S
More clues leading to the result JOBS FOR THE BOYS
- Misses out, presumably, in these privileged occupations?
- Treatment favouring chums that sounds sexist?
- Former IT boss faces current online stink? Yes, if heartlessly restricted access to posts
- Victorian chimney sweeping, an example of nepotism?
- Sexism in the workplace?
- Favouritism in the workplace that does not extend to girls?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Treatment favouring chums" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case treatment favouring chums = jobs for the boys.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.