November 12, 2024

A Suit Against Disney Claims Unequal Pay for Women

Disney did not respond to a request for comment.

Companies are facing increasing pressure to address questions of gender inequality in the workplace. The Labor Department is investigating whether Google systematically underpays women, an accusation that the tech giant denies. (A recent study conducted by the company indicated that men were being underpaid, though critics said that the research ignored broader questions of gender inequity.)

Time’s Up, the Hollywood-led initiative to combat workplace harassment and inequality, said Monday that it had teamed with California lawmakers and Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom, on a campaign to pressure California companies to sign an “equal pay pledge.” So far, 13 companies have agreed, including two in the entertainment business: Apple and ATT, which owns WarnerMedia.

Britain has recently forced a reckoning about unequal pay by requiring companies to publicly air their salary information. Ms. Andrus noted that the statistics that Disney released in Britain, where it employs about 1,600 people, showed a large disparity between men and women. Disney said at the time that the data was misleading, noting that the company compensates and promotes employees “based on their roles, experience and performance.”

Ms. Rasmussen has worked at Disney for 11 years, most recently as a product development manager at Walt Disney Studios, according to the complaint filed on Tuesday. In 2017, she complained to Disney’s human resources department about being paid less than men performing the same or very similar jobs and asked for an audit, the lawsuit said.

The audit found that men were paid more, but Disney told Ms. Rasmussen that the amount of her pay was “not due to gender.” In November 2018, Disney raised her annual salary by $25,000 and said the increase resulted from “an evaluation of market forces.” Even with the increase, Ms. Rasmussen asserts that she is paid less than male counterparts.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/02/business/media/disney-gender-discrimination-lawsuit.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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