
The company previously used a process called stack ranking, in which all employees were graded numerically to determine promotion and compensation ? not to mention that a certain percentage at the bottom were fired from the company on an annual basis.
While it abandoned this system in 2013, former employee Katherine Moussouris has filed a class action lawsuit against the company. She claimed that the performance-rating system gave female technical employees lower scores, which resulted in lower earnings and fewer promotions. ?Microsoft?s company-wide policies and practices systematically violate female technical employees? rights and result in the unchecked gender bias that pervades its corporate culture,? the lawsuit claimed. It was suggested that Moussouris was repeatedly passed over in favour of less qualified male colleagues. She was also allegedly told that while her performance qualified her for promotion, certain managers didn?t like her ?manner or style.? In 2008, she complained that a director in her group was sexually harassing female employees. After having concluded there was harassment, Microsoft reassigned him ? but he retained his title. Moussouris suggested that he retaliated by assigning her a low bonus, but when she complained, the company did nothing. Read more about Microsoft:- The perfect way to say goodbye as a CEO
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