A group of 5 female former employees of Citigroup, Inc. ("Citi") have filed class charges of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") in Manhattan against Citi alleging that they were laid off in November 2008 as a result of unlawful discrimination, specifically alleging that a glass ceiling exists at Citi and that in the latest round of layoffs, lesser qualified or under-performing male employees were retained at the expense of female employees.
The 5 women were all employed in Citi's Public Finance Department, within the Municipal Securities Division, and were notified on November 21, 2008 that their employment was being terminated as part of a larger reduction in force.
According to their EEOC charges, a culture of gender discrimination exists at Citi where a significant majority of the top officer positions in the Public Finance Department were filled by men. Of the only 5 female Directors in the Public Finance Department, 4 were laid off, leaving only 1 female Director in the Public Finance Department while retaining 41 male Directors. Three of these 4 eliminated female Directors have joined in this action.
The group has filed their charges of discrimination on behalf of themselves and all other similarly situated women at Citi affected by the layoffs.
