Apple is facing a lawsuit filed by two female employees, Justina Jong and Amina Salgado, who claim the company systematically pays women less than men for performing the same job. The lawsuit asserts that Apple’s practice of determining starting salaries based on employees’ compensation history perpetuates historical pay disparities between genders.
The employees argue that Apple’s performance review system disproportionately favors men, resulting in higher scores, larger bonuses, and higher overall pay compared to their female counterparts. The lawyer representing Jong and Salgado stated, “Apple’s policy and practice of collecting information about pay expectations and using that information to set starting salaries has had a disparate impact on women. Apple’s failure to pay women and men equal wages for performing substantially similar work is simply not justified under the law.”
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of over 12,000 current and former female employees in Apple’s engineering, marketing, and AppleCare divisions in California, highlights the following key points:
- Starting Salaries: Apple allegedly determines starting salaries based on previous compensation, which the plaintiffs argue reinforces existing pay inequalities.
- Performance Reviews: The lawsuit claims that men receive higher performance review scores, leading to larger bonuses and higher pay.
- Internal Complaints: Jong and Salgado, both Apple employees for over a decade, reported the pay disparities multiple times. Although Apple conducted an internal investigation, it stated that it could not adjust salaries until a third-party probe confirmed a pay gap.
This legal action aims to address and rectify the alleged gender pay disparities within Apple, reflecting broader concerns about gender equity in the tech industry.
