• 07
  • June
    2011

Gender stereotypes have plagued men and women throughout the country since the beginning of time. However, even as the playing field has leveled out in many California job fields, gender discrimination is certainly not a thing of the past. In fact, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is facing a lawsuit for precisely that reason.

Ann joined the DEA in 1983. At the time, she hoped that when her husband retired that she could apply for an overseas position. In total, she applied for 17 positions, and 16 of those positions went to male applicants. After the 16th application, she filed an informal class action gender discrimination complaint, and 25 other women joined her.

Just before the complaint became formal, she was offered an overseas position. According to her lawsuit, she was also informally asked to drop the complaint. She took the overseas position and continued working on the lawsuit, saying, "I felt it wasn't just about me, I felt an obligation to correct a wrong."

Now, almost 20 years later, she finally won the battle against the DEA. She filed the lawsuit in 1992, claiming that she and more than 200 other female agents were repeatedly denied overseas positions in favor of equal or lesser qualified males. After two decades, a judge finally ruled that the DEA discriminated against women because of their sex.

The next step in the process is determining the amount of damages each woman will be awarded. According to Ann's lawyer, each woman in the lawsuit will be requesting a different amount of compensation, depending on her situation. However, the "EEOC allows for a maximum of $300,000 per person for compensatory damages relief."

Ann and the other women at the DEA are grateful the judge finally ruled in their favor, and they hope the ruling will help correct the injustices that were done.

Source: abc News, "Drug Enforcement Agency 'Repeatedly, Purposefully' Discriminated Against Women Agents," Ariane de Vogue, 26 May 2011