LOS ANGELES
Walt Disney Company which has given some female-centric films like 'Moana' and 'Snow White', is now looking to pull itself out of a lawsuit alleging that it is creating gender bias by paying women less than men.
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The suit filed by a firm named Andrus Anderson LLP claims that Disney's hiring and pay practices are causing a discriminatory effect on women employees. The firm is representing 10 women Disney employees who allege that they are being paid less by tens of thousands of dollars than their male counterparts, reported Variety.
Disney on Friday filed a demurrer which denied any above-mentioned claims. The company also argued that the plaintiffs' claims are "anecdotal" and can't form the basis of a class action. "No California court has certified a pay class action under any law that seeks to include such an enormous number of women who work (or worked) in such markedly different jobs, requiring markedly different skills, effort and responsibility, across such markedly different lines of business," Disney's lawyers wrote.
However, Lori Andrus, the plaintiff's attorney countered by saying that Disney's massive scale is not a defence. The attorney also recounted that several other big organisations including Apple, Uber and Intel have pledged for a yearly salary review in order to ensure that women in their firms are treated fair.
"Disney could fix this if they wanted to," she said. The arguments will be heard by Los Angeles Judge Daniel J. Buckley on December 11.
