A female City analyst has been awarded £1.4m in compensation in the
highest-ever payout for sex discrimination.
Julie Bower, 35, won the case against Schroder Securities last year. She was
denied six-figure bonuses for being a woman.
Bower was given a ‘lousy’ £25,000 annual bonus while two male colleagues
received £650,000 and £440,000.
She left her £120,000-a-year job at Schroder Securities, claiming male
managers were trying to wreck her career.
The firm appealed, but last month dropped its challenge opening the way for
the huge payout.
The case has prompted the Government to commission a report by its adviser
on equal pay, Denise Kingsmill.
In a separate case £4-an-hour cleaner Dawn Ruff won £2540 after discovering
she earned 60p an hour less than male cleaners.
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A tribunal heard that Hannant Cleaning Services initially told Ruff a woman
would never earn £4.60 and then later that the difference in pay was because
she was not trained to use machinery the male cleaners used.
A large part of the compensation (£2,000) was awarded for victimisation
after she made the initial complaint.
