A senior human resources manager employed by a U.S. unit of Toshiba Corp has filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against her employer. The lawsuit seeks class-action status on behalf of all current and former female workers of Toshiba in the U.S. The employee, Elaine Cyphers, has also filed a claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Cyphers accuses Toshiba of systematically paying women less than men for doing similar work, a violation of the federal Equal Pay Act. She also says that Toshiba passes up women for promotions in favor of men. According to Reuters, Cyphers points out in her complaint that only 3.4 percent of the 6,273 managers employed by Toshiba around the world are women. Toshiba created a “Gender Equality Office” in 2005, but Cyphers does not believe the company has done enough to stop sex discrimination.
Cyphers says that she was hired by Toshiba in 2008 and brought 25 years of experience in human resources to the company. Soon after beginning her job, she says that a man with less experience than her was promoted above her. She also claims that the company retaliated against her for her discrimination complaints by trying to force her out of her job.
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Toshiba faces $100 million gender bias lawsuit (Reuters)