International
Wells Fargo bond saleswoman sues over 'unapologetically sexist' workplace
Wells Fargo was accused of sex discrimination in a lawsuit by a bond saleswoman who said the fourth-largest US bank denied pay and promotions available to men and tolerated an "unapologetically sexist" workplace. The complaint filed on Friday (April
The complaint filed on Friday (April 19) in federal court in Chicago by Michal Leavitt is the latest in a long line of lawsuits accusing big US banks of bias against women.
Leavitt said Wells Fargo's practice of steering larger accounts toward men in its financial institutions group cost her up to one-third of her potential pay, and forced her to wait nine years for a promotion to director from vice president.
She said she expressed frustration at missing out on large accounts, but was told her mostly male group thought of her as a mere "second income" for her husband.
Leavitt also said male managers routinely had inappropriate sexual relations with female subordinates, and men often made degrading jokes about women, including over their appearances and how their wives were only "spending their husbands' money."
