A female employee at Point72, billionaire Steven Cohen's new investment firm, is suing the company for allegedly having a sexist and hostile environment and paying women less than men, according to a complaint filed on Monday in federal court.
Why it matters: In the past year, women have grown more vocal about workplace harassment, sexism, and discrimination. Though Cohen is not personally accused of misconduct in the complaint, the lawsuit comes at a crucial time: He founded Point72 in 2014 after his previous firm plead guilty in an insider trading case. He's been working to repair his image since then.
Some of the allegations:
- President Douglas Haynes allegedly had the word "Pussy" written on a board in his office for weeks while female employees had to attend meetings in the room.
- Some members of the all-male hiring committee for investment pros allegedly said they won't hire women because their “wives won’t let them.” There are almost no senior women at the company.
- The woman who filed the lawsuit says she was passed over for promotion multiple times.
- Chief operating officer Tim Shaughnessy allegedly frequently holds meetings labeled as "no girls allowed."
- Women at times earn less than $0.50 for each dollar earned by male employees, per the lawsuit.
The firm denied the allegations to the New York Times.