How the US discriminates on the basis of sex: histories of 8 employees of large companies

Even in countries where anti-discrimination laws exist, women at work are often discriminated against on the basis of sex. Moreover, this situation does not depend on the size of the business, such a problem exists in small companies and in global corporations, the newspaper writes Zza!

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Women aren't promoted because they "might get pregnant." They are more often judged on their appearance than their male counterparts. Sometimes a less qualified male candidate may be hired for a job simply because he is a man.

Men receive more favorable compensation packages, may rely on a freer work schedule or other benefits based on gender inequality, although all this is considered illegal. However, sometimes there are cases of gender discrimination of male employees. And if examples from small businesses do not receive much publicity, then cases of discrimination in world-renowned global corporations become public.

Eight known cases of gender discrimination at work

Microsoft

From 2010 to 2016, women working for Microsoft filed 238 complaints with the human resources department, including 108 sexual harassment complaints and 119 about gender-based discrimination. Eight complaints of reprisals and three complaints of discrimination against pregnancy were also filed.

In 2015, Kathryn Mousouris, who worked as a computer security researcher from 2007 to 2014, filed a gender discrimination lawsuit in which she was hindered from promotion, while less qualified male colleagues were promoted. Later, she was joined by two more employees of the company, Holly Muenhov and Dana Piermarini. In June 2018, the court rejected the complainants ’petition, and in response they filed an appeal and are now awaiting further consideration of the case.

Computer Sciences Corporation

CSC dismissed a fairly high-ranking woman who often lodged complaints of gender discrimination and sexual harassment. The company warned her to stop filing complaints, to which she refused. In 2012, she was fired.

Walmart

In 2011, the company got away with it after the Supreme Court overturned a decision that would have held Walmart liable in a class action lawsuit. The judges ruled that "the women did not provide sufficient evidence for the situation to be classified as a group issue and constitute the world's largest act of discrimination." However, individual lawsuits against Walmart continue to be filed to this day.

In 2011, the situation of 1,6 million employees of the Walmart hypermarket chain accused their employer of sex discrimination and went to court.

Women claimed that their colleagues of the opposite sex received raises and raises faster. Thus, 70% of all Walmart employees are women, but less than a third of managers are women. At the same time, while male managers at Walmart earn an average of $105 a year, women earn only $700.

Walmart, for its part, struggled not with accusations of discrimination, but with the possibility of filing a class action in principle. The company argued that the general claim in this case could not be filed and the case of each woman should be considered separately. The court eventually sided with the retail giant.

Quest Diagnostics and AmeriPath

Two laboratories were sued for large-scale and systematic discriminatory practices against women. Not admitting guilt, in 2012, the company agreed to pay $ 152 million to more than 5 000 to current and former female employees. The company also agreed to spend $ 22,5 million on the development of new policies and procedures in the field of human resources.

Discrimination of women on the basis of sex is global in scope, but there are cases of gender discrimination against men.

Ventura Corporation

The company is engaged in the wholesale supply of cosmetic products. One day, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued the company for discriminating against men because Ventura refused to hire men as sales representatives. EEOC accused Ventura of refusing to hire men to regional and client support managers. Under the terms of the claim settlement agreement from 2014, Ventura paid $ 354 to 250.

Lawry's

One of the most well-known cases of discrimination against men is a class action suit against Lawry's law laboratories operating in several US cities. Lawry's had the practice of hiring only women as attendants. The only reason for this approach is the established tradition. In 2016, a class action was filed against men for gender-based discrimination against companies, which cost Lawry's more than $ 1 million.

Yahoo

Gregory Anderson worked for Yahoo's media division before being laid off in 2014. He filed a lawsuit against the technical giant, arguing that the company's performance management system was unfair. In accordance with the lawsuit, Yahoo uses a digital ranking system to evaluate employee performance, on the basis of which layoffs for the lowest scores can be made. The complaint states that when men and women get the same low scores, the company prefers to keep women at work, and to dismiss men.

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