Apple is still accused of sexism. The case is not new, and follows numerous controversies over the past decade around the American company. Back in 2014, the Cupertino company lacked diversity in its management teams. A few years later, in the midst of a scandal surrounding Activision Blizzard’s toxic and misogynistic corporate culture, Apple suffered the full force of the hashtag #AppleToo, while employees in turn denounced a sexist work environment and differences in treatment based on gender, most often to the detriment of women.
Last Thursday, June 13, Apple was again accused of sexism, this time by two employees: Justina Jong and Amina Salgado. The two women have worked for the company for more than a decade and announced that they have filed a class action lawsuit in California. At issue is Apple’s policy, which allegedly knowingly violated California labor laws by unfairly discriminating against female employees in the engineering, marketing, and AppleCare divisions, and systematically paying them less than their male colleagues, even with “similar training and experience.” In the complaint, we learn that some pay disparities could be as high as $10,000 per month for the same position.
For example, the tech giant reportedly spent years offering higher salaries to its male employees, rewarding the “same behaviors” it tended to sanction from its female employees. Despite the opening of several internal investigations, no complaint previously filed by Justina Jong and Amina Salgado has ever been successful. It is in an effort to obtain justice, and redress what they believe to be a serious violation by their company, that the plaintiffs have finally filed a class action lawsuit in California court.
A win for Apple employees could put the company in a lot of lose. In total, 12,000 women could collectively recover millions of dollars in lost wages due to the wage gap perpetrated by Apple’s sexist policy. The company has already begun shifting its lines, hiring a third-party mediator and raising the salaries of some high-ranking employees. The fact remains that the plaintiffs are now seeking compensation, taking into account the years of unpaid wage arrears.
An Apple-friendly “non-solution,” according to the plaintiffs’ attorney: “Once women are hired in a lower salary bracket at Apple, subsequent pay increases or bonuses follow accordingly, meaning they do not correct the gender pay gap.”
