Discrimination against employees by fostering a sexually hostile work environment does not always mean that the victims of the discrimination are treated as sexual objects. As a recent class-action lawsuit against Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals demonstrates, it can also mean overt hostility to women (or men) -- or gender stereotyping that results in negative employment consequences.

A group of current and former upper-level executives have filed suit against Bayer, a subsidiary of the German company Bayer AG, for wide-ranging, overt employment discrimination based on their gender. The woman claim they suffered from violations of the Equal Pay Act, pregnancy discrimination, and a generally hostile work environment toward women and mothers that kept them from advancement within the company.

What appears to be a sudden increase in gender discrimination lawsuits against corporate giants is a symptom of the economy, says one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs. "Companies have felt emboldened in the past few years to begin to be more open and more blatant in their discrimination against women in the workplace on the assumption that they can use the excuse of a bad market to disguise a multitude of sins."

Bayer management described women as prone to 'mood swings' and 'indecision,' said they 'needed to stop hiring women of reproductive age'

Each of the six plaintiffs named in the initial filing was an executive at Bayer -- all associate directors or higher. They would move no further up the corporate ladder, however, because the male-dominated management team at Bayer, they say, overtly preferred men in leadership roles, expressed open hostility to pregnancy and motherhood, and paid women less than their male counterparts.

According to the lawsuit, internal company communications described women -- generally -- as "loose cannons" who were given to "mood swings," "indecision" and "backstabbing. Negative gender stereotyping can create an extremely hostile work environment, and it can be exceedingly difficult for victims to combat.

The complaint also claims that Bayer routinely denied promotions for women who became pregnant. A senior manager allegedly stated that he "needed to stop hiring women of reproductive age." Such behavior is prohibited by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.

The lawsuit seeks $100 million in lost pay and benefits, other compensatory damages, and punitive damages against the company. Bayer has denied the allegations and said it will vigorously defend itself.

Among the recent gender discrimination lawsuits against large corporations are a class action against the health insurer Cigna Corp. for allegedly refusing to promote women to highly compensated positions; a suit against the multinational advertising conglomerate Publicis Groupe for having an unshatterable glass ceiling; and a gender discrimination suit against Novartis in which the plaintiffs were awarded $253 million.

Source: Westlaw News & Insight, "Female employees bring discrimination suit against Bayer," Terry Baynes, March 21, 2011