Press Release: Wayne Outten
Morgan Stanley > Gender Discrimination > Press Release > Attorney Wayne N. Outten
STATEMENT OF WAYNE N. OUTTEN
EEOC v. MORGAN STANLEY and SCHIEFFELIN
v.
MORGAN STANLEY
September 10, 2001
Everybody knows sexism exists on Wall Street. Everybody knows that women on Wall Street have to be better and work harder than their male counterparts to get ahead. Everybody knows that very few women hold positions of real power or earn top dollars on Wall Street. And everybody knows that the Old Boys' Club atmosphere persists on Wall Street.
That's not just the perception of some women and their supporters. Numerous governmental and independent reports have confirmed what everybody knows. For example, in 1995, the Glass Ceiling Commission of the United States Department of Labor, under the leadership of Cari Dominguez (the new EEOC Chair), issued a report confirming the existence of the glass ceiling. That report contained detailed findings on how few women hold senior positions in major companies; and it included data showing how few women hold board positions in the securities industry. Three years ago, the Attorney General of New York, Dennis Vacco, issued a report based on a survey of the top 10 securities firms for 1995, 1996, and 1997. He found that very few women at the highest levels on Wall Street. In fact, at least seven of the top 10 firms had no women at the highest levels for each year. And numerous empirical studies have shown the persistence of substantial disparities in pay between men and women on Wall Street.
In a current television advertising campaign - perhaps in anticipation of this lawsuit - Morgan Stanley says that it represents "the New Old Boys' Club - less old, less boys." Unfortunately, the Old Old Boys' Club is alive and well at Morgan Stanley. Clever advertising does not change that reality. It is ironic that in its ad Morgan Stanley shows only a single woman in a row of men at a shoeshine parlor.
If everybody recognizes the problem, why hasn't somebody done something about it? There are several reasons.
First, until recently, Wall Street companies were able to prevent most professional women from bringing discrimination cases to court - by forcing them to assert any claims they might have in private, industry-run arbitration procedures. Under substantial pressure from advocates for employees and others, the industry lifted those restrictions about three years ago.
Another reason these glass ceiling issues have not been more actively pursued is the high cost to people who assert discrimination claims against Wall Street firms.
Complaining about gender discrimination against your employer can be the kiss of death for your job and your career. Indeed, that is what happened here. After filing her charge of discrimination in 1998, Allie Schieffelin was subjected to a campaign of harassment by Morgan Stanley, culminating in its termination of her employment - after more than 14 years of dedicated, exemplary service - on pretextual grounds. Recognizing such costs, it is not surprising that most women simply grin and bear it - or they move on, in the hopes of finding greener pastures.
Another important factor is the interest and commitment of the EEOC. Fighting Wall Street is a tough, expensive proposition. Not many individuals can take on a huge, rich company like Morgan Stanley, which had more than $5.0 billion in profits last year - yes, I said "profits," not revenues. I would like to commend the EEOC for finally stepping forward in this case and taking on a Wall Street behemoth to change its sexist ways. I especially want to commend Elizabeth Grossman, the senior supervising attorney in the New York District Office, for her unwavering commitment and energy devoted to this case.
Speaking of the burdens and expense of pursuing these kinds of claims, I would like to say a few words about my client, Allie Schieffelin. As you will hear, she is firmly committed to righting the wrongs that she and her female colleagues at Morgan Stanley have endured. She knew it would be a tough battle; but even she did not anticipate just how tough it would be. As recently as a year ago, she never imagined that Morgan Stanley - the company to which she has dedicated her entire fourteen-year career - would have the audacity to terminate her employment on pretextual grounds. On behalf of women who work on Wall Street - past, present, and future - I want to thank Allie for her bravery and tenacity in fighting this fight for herself and her professional colleagues.
A couple of other points: It has been reported in the papers that Ms. Schieffelin earned more than a million dollars a year at Morgan Stanley. Those reports are accurate. Some might wonder: "What is she complaining about? I wish I earned even a fraction of that." That's a fair point. But it is important to keep things in context. First, Ms. Schieffelin's high income demonstrates that she was an exceptional producer for Morgan Stanley -she dedicated her life to her job and generated tens of millions of dollars in profits for Morgan Stanley over just the last few years. In any event, there can be no justification for paying women less than men for comparable work, whether the job is blue collar, pink collar, or white collar. Finally, a key issue in this case is that Ms. Schieffelin was denied promotion to Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, where the opportunities exist to earn many multiples of what Ms. Schieffelin earned. (Notably, when Ms. Schieffelin filed her charge of discrimination in 1998, only three of the 50 or so Managing Directors in her entire Division were women and all of the top earners in the Division were men.)
A few days ago, Morgan Stanley issued statements to the media in an apparent attempt to put its spin on this lawsuit. I cannot resist commenting on Morgan Stanley's deceptive assertion that Ms. Schieffelin is complaining because she lost a promotion contest to another woman, Gay Ebers. That assertion is simply false. Ms. Ebers was promoted more than a year after Ms. Schieffelin filed her charge of discrimination in November 1998. Moreover, we believe it is no coincidence that Ms. Ebers was promoted in the middle of the EEOC's investigation of Ms. Schieffelin's charge.
For those of you who would like copies of Ms. Schieffelin's complaint and her motion papers, you can visit the website of my law firm, Outten & Golden. The website address is www.outtengolden.com.
Now, it is my sincere pleasure to introduce the brave woman who has taken on Morgan Stanley to try to break through the glass ceiling on behalf of herself and other women on Wall Street - Allie Schieffelin.