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Three Women Suing Microsoft for Bias Want To Add 8,630 Peers (bloomberg.com)

Posted by msmash on from the tussle-continues dept.

A reader shares a report: A lawsuit accusing Microsoft of discriminating against women in technical and engineering roles is poised to grow a lot bigger if it wins class-action status. With the technology sector awash in challenges to white male dominance, the three women spearheading the case against Microsoft told a Seattle federal judge they want to represent about 8,630 peers who have worked for the company since 2012. The women said their expert consultants have determined that discrimination at the Redmond, Washington-based company cost female employees more than 500 promotions and $100 million to $238 million in pay, according to Oct. 27 court filings. They also accused the software maker of maintaining "an abusive, toxic 'boy's club' atmosphere, where women are ignored, abused, or degraded." Microsoft said it strongly disagrees with the allegations, saying the filings "mischaracterize data and other information."

6 of 246 comments (clear)

  1. Re:This is exactly why you don't hire women... by Drethon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    On the other hand, men I've worked with seem convinced that they should get paid far more for doing minimal work of questionable quality. When they aren't promoted for this work they cause a big stink, complaining about how they are not treated like they deserve.

    The women I've worked with are usually quietly competent. For the most part they weren't brilliant but they weren't idiots either. If I want to point out the biggest idiots around my workplace it is usually a man.

  2. Re:here we go again by computational+super · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Well, I've never seen anybody suggest why "systemic sexism" has been so massively successful in keeping the supposed hordes of "qualified women coders" out of programming, but failed so miserably in keeping them out of sales, marketing, law, medicine, journalism, finance, government and education. Especially when you factor in the fact that anything that even vaguely looks like systemic sexism gets you fired and blackballed immediately with no warning or review and we've been bending over backwards to put anti-systemic-sexism programs in place for at least thirty years, the power of the systemic sexism in tech is really a wonder to behold.

    --
    Proud neuron in the Slashdot hivemind since 2002.
  3. Never worked there, but... by jcr · · Score: 4, Interesting

    From what I've heard, they have a toxic culture that makes life miserable for most of them, not just women.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  4. Re: here we go again by Entrope · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Don't ever be the first to stop applauding! I mean, booing!

  5. White Male Dominance? Microsoft? LOL. by FuegoFuerte · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Really, who comes up with this drivel?

    Has anyone noticed that the CEO is not a white male? How about the top HR person? Most of management? Microsoft is FAR from being a place where white male dominance is a thing. In fact, on the team I was on for several years, it was commonly observed that the best way to not get a promotion was to be white. It didn't really matter if you were a white male or white female, you were probably getting a mediocre to poor review no matter what you had done, so that someone the same race as the director could get the promotion. If you were a female from the same part of the world and were sufficiently subservient, you might also get a promotion, but us uppity white folk were last in line (in addition to being last to leave the building every night).

    There are a lot of problems with the culture of Microsoft, and racism *is* one of them, but it's certainly not white-dominant racism. The biggest difference is, as a white male, I don't have a voice if I try to claim discrimination. My recourse is pretty much limited to either "shut up and deal with it" or "find a better company to work for." So, after years of the first option, I finally took the second option. That's white male privilege at work right there... "you're a white male, so you have the privilege to shut up and take it or get the hell out."

  6. Re:This is exactly why you don't hire women... by Rastl · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They will distort reality to entitle themselves to whatever the fuck they want, paint you misogynist, and then sue you in a case with worldwide visibility. If you had never hired them in the first place, then you wouldn't owe them anything and you wouldn't have to deal with this shit. Seriously... you want to be treated like an equal? Take your lumps like the rest of us and stop making a big fucking stink out of the fact that you are a woman.

    Get off your fucking high horse. I'm a female coder and have been for 25 years. I'm treated like an equal because I fucking demand it. I don't have to put up with ANY of your shit because I'm female. You need to get over the fact that we have different plumbing and deal with the fact that I'm just fucking better at it than you are.

    Gee? Did that sound hostile? Because when I'm confronted with regressive morons like you I tend to react appropriately and bitch slap you until you wise up to the fact that we're peers. I don't expect concessions because I'm female. I expect professional behavior. Get used to it.