Complaint: Work History

Morgan Stanley > Gender Discrimination > Complaint > Work History at Morgan Stanley

MS. SCHIEFFELIN’S EMPLOYMENT HISTORY AT MORGAN STANLEY

Background

25. Ms. Schieffelin received an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in the spring of 1986.

26. In July 1986, Ms. Schieffelin began working at Morgan Stanley as an Associate in the IED. In January 1990, she began working in the Convertible Department.

27. Because of her exceptional performance, Ms. Schieffelin was promoted to Vice President on or about February 1, 1993, and to Principal on or about February 1, 1995.

28. As a salesperson in the Convertible Department, Ms. Schieffelin was a leading producer, generating substantial profits for the Department and the Division year after year.

29. As stated by Frank Pratt (her immediate supervisor) in her 1997 year-end review, Ms. Schieffelin had “exceptional relationships with key accounts.”

30. Ms. Schieffelin was extraordinarily successful at cross-selling and cross-marketing other products for the firm. She contributed significantly to firm revenues outside the Convertible Department by, among other things, selling structured products and swap products and by bringing to Morgan Stanley important prime brokerage accounts and option accounts.

31. Ms. Schieffelin was a leader in recruiting and training professional staff members. She led graduate business school recruiting teams for the IED, and she was selected to teach convertibles to new analysts and associates for many years. She was rated the “best presenter/teacher” of such classes for several consecutive years. 32. Ms. Schieffelin trained the Convertible Department in new technologies for many years.

33. Ms. Schieffelin participated actively in numerous important innovations for the IED and other divisions of Morgan Stanley, including helping design and implement (a) a “Virtual Roadshow” to present new offerings to prospective investors, (b) an online system for tracking non-registered convertible bonds, and (c) “Quotesheet,” a computer program to analyze convertible securities.

Denial of Promotion to Managing Director

34. At Morgan Stanley, Managing Directors are the top executives of the firm and have the potential to earn far more money than Principals and others. No later than year-end 1996, Ms. Schieffelin became eligible for promotion to Managing Director. At that time, she was fully qualified for promotion.

35. Morgan Stanley did not promote Ms. Schieffelin to Managing Director at year-end 1996. At that time, Morgan Stanley did promote men in the Institutional Equity Division to Managing Director who were less or no more qualified than Ms. Schieffelin.

36. Morgan Stanley did not promote Ms. Schieffelin to Managing Director at year-end 1997. Again, Morgan Stanley did promote men in the Institutional Equity Division to Managing Director who were less or no more qualified than Ms. Schieffelin.

37. On or about March 1, 1998, Ms. Schieffelin asked Mr. Pratt if she was going to be on the list for promotion for year-end 1998. Mr. Pratt said “no.” Ms. Schieffelin asked if she was ever going to be promoted to Managing Director and Mr. Pratt said “not that I see.” When Ms. Schieffelin asked why not, Mr. Pratt’s response was “not everyone gets Managing Director.”

38. On information and belief, the Convertible Department, from its inception in the 1970’s through 1998, never had a female Managing Director.

39. On information and belief, in 1998, the Institutional Equity Division had about 50 Managing Directors, out of which only three were women; and these women were among the least powerful and lowest compensated Managing Directors in the IED.

40. On information and belief, at all relevant times, all of the highest paid employees in the IED were men.

41. In November 1998, Ms. Schieffelin filed her Initial Charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

42. Ms. Schieffelin was passed over again for promotion to Managing Director at year-end 1998 and year-end 1999. At both times, men in the Institutional Equity Division who were less or no more qualified than Ms. Schieffelin were promoted to Managing Director.

43. At year-end 1999, Morgan Stanley promoted one woman in the Convertible Department, Gay Ebers, to Managing Director.

44. The promotion of Ms. Ebers took place more than one year after Ms. Schieffelin filed her Initial Charge, and in the midst of an active EEOC investigation into Morgan Stanley's employment practices.

45. Before Ms. Schieffelin filed her Initial Charge, she had substantially broader responsibilities than Ms. Ebers.

46. After Ms. Schieffelin filed her Initial Charge, her responsibilities were diminished while Ms. Ebers' responsibilities were increased.

47. On information and belief, before Ms. Schieffelin filed her Initial Charge, she was more highly compensated than Ms. Ebers.

48. After Ms. Schieffelin filed her Initial Charge, her compensation was diminished relative to Ms. Ebers.

49. Before Ms. Schieffelin filed her Initial Charge, Ms. Ebers repeatedly complained to Ms. Schieffelin and others about gender discrimination at Morgan Stanley.

50. After Ms. Ebers became aware that Ms. Schieffelin had filed her Initial Charge, she stopped speaking to Ms. Schieffelin about gender discrimination, but instead actively participated in Morgan Stanley's campaign of retaliation against Ms. Schieffelin.

51. At year-end 1999, Morgan Stanley promoted nineteen persons to Managing Director in the IED; Ms. Ebers was the only woman in that group.

52. In or about January 2000, Ms. Ebers directly acknowledged to Ms. Schieffelin her belief that she would not have been promoted to Managing Director if Ms. Schieffelin had not filed her Initial Charge.

53. On October 24, 2000, Morgan Stanley terminated Ms. Schieffelin’s employment at Morgan Stanley.

Morgan Stanley’s Pretextual Explanation of its Failure to Promote Ms. Schieffelin

54. Before Ms. Schieffelin filed her Initial Charge, Morgan Stanley never gave Ms. Schieffelin any reason for its failure to promote her, despite her inquiries.

55. Morgan Stanley’s subsequent explanations to Ms. Schieffelin for why it would not promote her to Managing Director were and are pretextual.

56. After Ms. Schieffelin filed her Initial Charge, Morgan Stanley asserted that Ms. Schieffelin was not promoted to Managing Director because she had problems with “leadership” and “interpersonal” skills. These reasons were and are pretextual. No other reasons were ever presented.

57. From 1996 until the filing of the Initial Charge, Morgan Stanley never told Ms. Schieffelin of any such alleged problems, even though: