“Above all, we are about people. A philosophy of inclusion drives our organization every day and helps us win in a diverse, global marketplace.”
When you visit Bank of America’s website and visit the career opportunity page, you see these words listed at the top of the page. This is a philosophy most people expect from such a large and well-known institution in this day and age. We seemingly assume that in the big corporate offices of Bank of America, the diversity they take pride in also means equal pay, equal rights, and general fairness in the workplace.
Unfortunately if the lawsuit recently filed against Bank of America is any indication, their show of “diversity and inclusion” ends after the hiring process. At least it appears to have ended for the 15,800 brokers, the majority of which came from Merrill Lynch, that work for Bank of America.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday and is seeking class-action status, accusing Bank of America of steering their wealthier clients away from female brokers and into the hands and bank accounts of the white male brokers that dominate the field.
This in turn leads to significantly less money when bonuses are distributed to employees because those bonuses were based on fees earned on client assets. The complaint states that the bonus distribution authorized by Bank of America "disproportionately disadvantages women and advantages white men as favored employees."
The practice of steering clients to the white men in the firm has apparently been a long time practice at Merrill Lynch and one that Bank of America had no problem continuing.
Jaimie Goodman, the plaintiff in the case, is seeking compensatory damages which include the value of all compensation and benefits lost as well as punitive damages as a cause of the long-standing gender bias she has allegedly suffered. She claims that she has been one of the top performers at Merrill Lynch for over 10 years but would have received much higher retention bonuses and performed even better without the continued gender bias.
Similar lawsuits have been filed by African-American workers in recent years against both Merrill Lynch and Bank of America regarding the practice of steering wealthy clients to the white, male employees.
The fact that this kind of gender bias still exists in 2009 is slightly overshadowed by the fact that mainstream media refuses to shine a light on it and bring gender bias and sexism in the workplace in to the forefront.
In 1963 the Equal Pay Act was instated after research discovered that women in the workplace were earning 59 cents to the dollar of men. Now. 46 years later, women earn 78 cents to the dollar. That is only a nineteen-cent increase in 46 years.
Now while the country is economic crisis, women are working more than ever. Yet 14.1 million women are poor. In fact Women are 40 percent more likely to live in poverty than men. Single moms are the most vulnerable, with no spousal income to rely on. And of course, women head 62 percent of the 5.8 million poor families in this country.
Why exactly should women not receive the same pay, benefits, and bonuses as men?
Despite common misconception, gender bias is alive and well and affecting the hearts of corporations and industries across the country, and this lawsuit is just one step towards stopping this bias from continuing. It is time that women stand up and continue to file lawsuits such as this one to bring to light the bias facing women of all race, age, and social status.
