News Flash 3: Women Employees Sue Bank of America and Merrill Lynch for Alleged Sex Discrimination

In the Market Watch article, “Women Employees Sue Bank of America and Merrill Lynch for Alleged Sex Discrimination”, a national class action lawsuit against Bank of America and Merrill Lynch on behalf of three female Financial Advisors is discussed. The women are charging sex discrimination against the two major companies that have recently merged. The lawsuit, Calibuso, et al. v. Bank of America Corp., et al., states that Merrill Lynch and Bank of America took part in sexual discrimination against their female employees “with respect to business opportunities, compensation, professional support, and other terms and conditions of employment” (Market Watch, 2010). According to the three female Financial Advisors, their employers have violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 (Market Watch, 2010). Judy Calibuso, one of the three Financial Advisors, hopes that by coming forward she will help all women at these companies. She hopes to “keep the company true to its promise of being the ‘bank of opportunity’, and not just for male employees” (Market Watch, 2010). Hopefully, the lawsuit will force change upon the employers and provide women with a non-discriminatory working environment. After thoroughly examining works discussed in class such as Ann Critenden’s, “The Mommy Tax”, Asha Hakim-Dyce’s, “Reality Check”, and Maria Cristina Rangel’s, “Knowledge is Power”, it can be seen that sex discrimination, such as what is presented in the Market Watch article, is ubiquitous, and that women have not come as far as we think.

Ann Critenden’s article, “The Mommy Tax”, discusses how women are not earning nearly as much as men are in the work place. She begins her article with the unnerving declaration that “the women who earn almost as much as men are a rather narrow group: those who are between the ages of twenty-seven and thirty-three and who have never had children” (Critenden, 87). Therefore, our nation’s applause for women finally earning “ninety-eight cents to a man’s dollar” is completely unnecessary and downright humiliating because it is an utter lie (Critenden, 87). She goes on to discuss the ‘ideal worker’ and how more often than not, the image of this ‘ideal worker’ is a male that is unfettered and is not tied down to his children. If he has children, his wife is the dominant caretaker and he is free to devote as much time as needed to his occupation. Those women that do work full time and have children at home often are subject to “the mommy tax”. These women are not able to access the best jobs on the market, nor are they capable of earning as much as their male counterparts. Although this is absolutely illegal, companies manage to get away with performing these actions upon women. Unfortunately, women are being punished in the work place for choosing to have children and either temporarily take time off from work, or continue working but spending less hours at the office. Critenden acknowledges working class and low-earning couples and how “the decision to have a child, or a second child, throws them into poverty” (Critenden, 91). Sadly, more and more women are having fewer children, later in life, all over the country.

Aisha Hakim-Dyce discusses her similar predicament in “Reality Check”. She attended a prestigious performing arts high school, a prominent black university, and gained a well-rounded education. Unfortunately, at the same time, she was unable to pay her living expenses. She scoured the ‘Help Wanted’ section of the newspaper every week, and sent resume upon resume out to potential employers, to no avail. Economically desperate, Hakim-Dyce felt she had to resort to taking a job as a go-go dancer, clearly a demeaning position. She writes, “My sense of confidence in being an intelligent and capable woman faltered, and how she still wonders to herself, “is this really what I had to do? Weren’t there some other viable options?” (Hakim-Dyce, 122). She comes to the conclusion that she “had been shocked into cognitive numbness by the decision to objectify [herself] for a price” (Hakim-Dyce, 123). Fortunately, she is offered an English tutorial position and does not need to take on the go-go dancing position. But, the fact that she was so close to such a dehumanizing job, which many people often face, whether it be sexual objectification or not, is traumatizing to say the least. Although workingwomen may not have to resort to go-go dancing, they are continuously losing their sense of empowerment when no matter how hard they try, they simply cannot be equal to men in the work place. Motherhood aside, women are not taken as seriously as men, which is why Aisha Hakim-Dyce, a well educated, young, black woman could barely find herself a job.

Maria Cristina Rangel writes about her experience with the welfare system in her article, “Knowledge is Power”. She discusses her situation: working, going to school, and being a mother, and how the combination caused something to slip-her grades. Rangel talks about her frustration with being a single mother, trying to provide for her daughter, and attaining an education. She is constantly thwarted by quotes on welfare posters and comments from workers she deals with through the welfare system. It’s as if they’re saying, “poverty is a matter of personal failure…and ending poverty a matter of personal will. You have failed, but with our help you can become better, and then maybe your children won’t be ashamed of you” (Rangel, 192). Rangel placed an emphasis on education, and how it would eventually bring her success, but we often forget how difficult it is to attend school and earn money, and how without an education it’s almost impossible to make a substantial living. The lack of support that Rangel felt during this time was extreme, and because of it she began to advocate for other low-income women like herself. Although Rangel’s situation differs from those of the three female Financial Advisors at Merrill Lynch and the Bank of America, it just goes to show how more often than not, women are the ones raising a child alone and trying to earn a living to support themselves and their family. Women are not supported by this nation in the work force like men are, and consequently we have situations such as the one in the Market Watch article where sex discrimination is rampant in prominent companies.

The articles discussed here just go to show how difficult it is for women to gain equality in the working world. Women face tremendous obstacles still, and we cannot ignore this cold, hard fact. The discriminations that were filed against Merrill Lynch and the Bank of America lie under the context of “account distributions, partnership opportunities, upfront money, pay-out rate, and other benefits in its compensation plan, as well as in other opportunities for brokers to increase their income” (Market Watch, 2010). These women are simply fighting for an opportunity to be equal to men because they are certainly deserving of it. The companies claim to be top locations for women to work at because they are accepting of all races and women with children, yet this clearly is not put into practice. In all of these situations of women discussed above, the individuals are subjected to all types of sexual discrimination, which makes feminists wonder, has progress really been achieved?