Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Gender Pay Gap

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Two plaintiffs have filed a proposed class action in which they allege there exists at Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company’s (HPE) California offices an “indefensible and unlawful” wage gap between female employees and their male counterparts. The plaintiffs allege in the 26-page complaint that women are disproportionately represented at HPE, comprising roughly one third of the defendant’s total workforce, and are subject to company policies that uniformly result in unequal compensation between the sexes.

The suit charges that HPE’s lack of transparency on the issue has stood in the way of wiping out its gender pay gap. According to the complaint, HPE does not state publicly the specific measures it takes to supposedly address the gender pay disparity, choosing instead to advise employees to “keep their compensation to themselves” and avoid starting discussions with supervisors about how much other employees are paid. Moreover, the case continues, HPE also keeps quiet with regard to its pay grades, which leaves employees unsure about comparable pay scales between males and females. From the case:

“HPE has systematically paid its female employees less than similarly situated males and continues to do so. These discriminatory patterns and practices occur throughout HPE in California. HPE's corporate culture and centralized leadership, and the uniform policies, procedures, and practices inevitably result in systemic pay discrimination to the disadvantage of female employees. Such pay discrimination is manifested in multiple ways, including, without limitation, by: (a) paying Plaintiffs and other female employees less than similarly situated male employees; (b) failing to advance Plaintiffs and other female employees at the same rate as male employees performing equal or substantially similar work; and (c) other adverse employment actions.”