Wal-Mart Charged With Sex Discrimination Suit
Six women filed a federal lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. last week, alleging they repeatedly were passed up for promotion to management positions and fired when they complained.
The suit, which seeks class-action status for an estimated 500,000 current and former female employees, contends that although women make up more than 72 percent of the Wal-Mart work force, they hold only 10 percent of the store director jobs and fewer than a third of all store management jobs. That falls well short of the women who represent 56 percent of managers at Wal-Mart’s competitors.
Wal-Mart denied that it practiced any systemic discrimination and said it is premature to comment on the case outcome.
The suit, filed in San Francisco, demands a court order directing Wal-Mart to stop the alleged discriminatory behavior and seeks compensation for lost wages for half a million women, reinstatement of six plaintiffs’ jobs and lawyers’ fees.
Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart employs more than 960,000 workers at 3,100 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. The company reported sales last year of more than $191 billion. —Nola Sarkisian-Miller
