
Medina Bardhi, the former chief of staff, complained about discrimination during her pregnancy at WeWork. Ms. Bardhi accused CEO Adam Neumann of gender discrimination.
Bardhi had been worried about his behaviour during her pregnancy for her child, “due to his penchant for bringing marijuana on chartered flights and smoking it throughout the flight, while in the enclosed cabin”.
Bardhi took her complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of New York. She claimed that the company “transparently and systematically marginalized and discriminated against her, by drastically and materially reducing her role and/or demoting her outright”.
“For years, they have been subjected to a work environment in which female employees are demeaned for taking maternity leave, excessive alcohol consumption fuels offensive sexual conduct towards women, and where it is common for women to be paid less than their male colleagues,” Ms. Bardhi said in the complaint.
Every time that she has announced her pregnancy to Neumann, the company began to search for her permanent replacement. In addition, Neumann said that pregnancy leave is like a “retirement” and “vacation.”
Ms. Bardhi also claimed that during her pregnancy, she was replaced by a man who was paid three times her salary, even though he had less experience.
The company continues to attempt to refutes those claims. “WeWork intends to vigorously defend itself against this claim,” said the company. “We have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind.”
WeWork recently made a multi-billion-dollar rescue deal with Softbank. Neumann received $1.7 billion to leave the company.
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Last updated: 04 November 2019.
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