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Credit: DisneyNew accusations came to light about an ongoing lawsuit, alleging some disturbing facts about the Disney gender wars that sparked a wage disparity case.
Disney Gender Wars: Lawsuits About Wage Disparity
The case in question suggests serious Disney gender wars, alleging that there’s an “egregious gender pay gap that appears to be ingrained in Disney’s culture.” Alleging that the Walt Disney Company company underpaid women an average of 2% might not seem like much, but it represents around $150 million missing dollars since 2015 (the case was filed in 2019).
How the Case of Disney Gender Wars Began
It referenced the known gender-based pay gap that causes companies like Google, Lucasfilm, and Disney to have gender wars regarding ethics and cutting pay cheques. Starting with a seed, LaRonda Rasmussen, a Disney product development manager, claims that six men with the same title received between $16,000 and $40,000 more than she was earning.
More claims followed, snowballing into a group of nine plaintiffs, five of whom are in the BIPOC community. The legal representative of the plaintiffs stated, “It’s pretty demoralizing and especially damaging when it’s coming from a brand like Disney that women in America idolize. They love their jobs. They love the content that Disney produces, and they just want to be paid fairly.”
The allegations take a darker turn thanks to a labor economist at the University of California named David Neumark.
New Disney Gender Wage War Accusations
Hired by the plaintiffs, the Disney gender war claims get serious as the economist alleges that the gender pay gap was actually 4.36% in California. That’s over double the claimed value. The analysis, supported by attorney Lori Andrus, says the $151 million claim is not mathematically accurate; it’s too low and would include interest charges.
The analysis included tenure, job levels, and other factors impacting pay. Neumark’s conclusion? That it stemmed from gender discrimination.
What Disney Has to Say
The Walt Disney Company released its own report regarding its ethical hiring practices and use of gender. Regarding the lawsuit, Shawna M. Swanson, attorney for Disney, “The plaintiffs’ assertions about an alleged pay gap between women and men are simply false, which we will demonstrate through the litigation.”
The often-lengthy litigation process has led to similar class action successes for companies like Google, who settled a gender-discrimination case for $118 million. It’s not the only class action against Disney, but this new twist leaves Disney on the hook with allegations of around $300 million missing dollars.
Do you think that Disney will settle the suit after this new information? Share your take in the comments below!