Powerful PwC boys humbled by Sex Verdict
Date: 31-03-2008
Source: The Daily Telegraph
The mega-watt smile plastered on the face of Christina Rich meant only one thing -- mega-bucks.
As the former PricewaterhouseCoopers partner celebrated the settlement of her landmark sex discrimination case against the accounting giant, an insider spoke out to back many of her claims about the firm.
The former employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity said the company had a "boys club'' culture, with women -- and some men -- who did not "play the game'' squeezed to the outer in favour of those who did.
He said it was ultra-competitive and if you did not fit the "It Club'' you were "slowly isolated''.
"Women sometimes got overlooked because it's just such a competitive environment ... there are [senior people] in there who think maternity leave and part-time work for women [with children] is `a bit soft' and they shouldn't be there because `they can't hack it',' he told The Daily Telegraph.
The ex-employee said there was a strange reaction within the firm to Ms Rich's case when it was first revealed in October 2005 that she sought $11 million damages from PwC in the record claim.
"There was a view in PwC of: Oh well, she obviously didn't quite cut the mustard; and was [being] unreasonable,'' he said.
Ms Rich, who earned almost $1 million a year as a transfer-pricing expert, claimed her career was undermined after she complained about "systematic bullying and harassment'' at work.
She allegedly wrote to management at consultancy and accountancy firm PwC in July 2004, claiming physical and verbal sexual harassment at company events.
She said there were reports of "female employees'' drinks being spiked at firm-only events and she herself had a male partner put his hands up her shirt and try to remove her bra at an event in 2001.
She claimed there was an acceptance of male partners kissing and putting their arms around their female counterparts, and that some openly refused to work with female employees and partners.
Wollongong University professor Diana Kelly said it could be inferred that the settlement was in part recognition by PwC that "there was at least some problem''.
But one of the dangers of such a settlement was that it could look from the outside like a firm had accepted and acknowledged problems without actually having to say so.
She said without proper and focused attention, discrimination of all varieties could flourish. "It takes an overt and active attempt to change it,'' she said. "Mainly it takes leadership from the top ... it's about attitudes, process and behaviours.''
Figures from 2006 indicated that female managers in finance industries still only received 71 per cent of male wages, she said.
The ex-PwC employee said he would be surprised if the company took any active steps to change its culture. He said he he had seen no attempt to address the issues at the heart of the legal action.
Outside court, Ms Rich's grin was still in place as she thanked her family, friends, "many supporters'' and her legal team.
She described her case against PwC as having been a "long process'' and said she was glad it was over.
PwC did not respond to questions from the The Daily Telegraph.
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