Sexism in the EU

Women get a raw deal everywhere, including in the EU. This BusinessWeek article chronicles the latest sex-bias lawsuits launched by women of Britain, where the going has been tough for women to get their cases to court. An EU ruling that took effect in 2001 however, is making it easier for women, as it moved the burden of proof from the employees to the employer. Some of the accusations of the cases have to make you wonder about the ridiculous old boys club:

Stephanie Villalba vs. Merrill Lynch -- suing for sex discrimination, unequal pay, and unfair dismissal. The former head of Merrill Lynch's European private banking earned less than her male counterparts, was bullied and belittled by her boss, who told her serve drinks and "sit in the stewardess seat" on a business flight.

Elizabeth Weston vs. Merrill Lynch -- sued and won for having endured unwanted sexual attention and lewd remarks; she had to listen to a senior lawyer comment about her breasts and sex life.

Sian Heard & Sian Fellows vs. Sinclair Roche & Temperley law firm -- the case was heard by an employment tribunal that ruled in the women's favour. The women asserted that the environment at the law firm kept them under a glass ceiling and stunted their careers. One senior executive told some female employees that they should be fired "to get in better-looking recruits rather than you old bags."

Julie Bower vs. Schroder Securities -- sued and won for receiving a smaller bonus than male counterparts and being blocked from advancement. Her boss described her in an email as "had cancer, been a pain, and is now pregnant."

Arianna McGregor-Mezzotero vs. BNP Paribas -- sued and won after receiving a smaller bonus and reduced responsibilities after returning to work from maternity leave.

Britain's Equal Opportunities Commission has a wealth of studies showing the discrimination women work under. The pay gap between women and men [PDF] are tremendous -- and the statistics haven't improved significantly over the last 20 years. In the management field [PDF], women still make up less than 25% of the executives and only hold 10% of board positions. On continental Europe, women are worse off [PDF]. In France for instance, a man sued for wrongful dismissal after he was fired for groping two female colleagues on a business trip. He won, and received $616,000. In the same year, Florence Buscail sued IBM France for sex discrimination after being passed over for promotions and being paid 30% less. She won, but was awarded $37,000. The further in on the continent, the worse it seems to get. In Germany for instance, 80% of the cases filed under sexual harassment, are filed by men. These are men who were accused of sexual harassment and punished by the employers, and are fighting it. Sex discrimination just isn't taken very seriously in the continental EU.