Gender and the City

Louise Barton had a feeling that she was underpaid compared with her male counterparts at London-based, South Africanowned brokerage firm Investec Henderson Crosthwaite Securities.

Louise Barton had a feeling that she was underpaid compared with her male counterparts at London-based, South Africanowned brokerage firm Investec Henderson Crosthwaite Securities. So the respected media analyst did what she was trained to do: research. Her conclusion was that she was indeed paid too little based on how much revenue she generated.

So the Australian-born analyst sued Investec for sex discrimination. Her case is expected to be ruled on by a U.K. labor tribunal within the next month. At stake: not only an estimated £1.5 million ($2.3 million) in allegedly forgone earnings for Barton but also the way that Investec -- and, by implication, other brokerages -- determine analysts’ pay.

Barton charges that Investec lacked quantifiable standards, and she dismisses as “complete and utter rubbish” the firm’s contention that a brokerage can’t attribute revenue to individuals. Absent an objective pay formula, the court must rule if Barton was paid less than her male peers because of sex discrimination.

“We have a record of treating all our employees fairly, and that is democratically based on performance and not based on anything else but performance,” says Investec Bank (U.K.) COO Brad Fried.

Barton, who is working as a self-employed financial adviser, says she hopes her suit will cast light on the City’s approach to compensation. “It’s more of an art than a science and subject to personal bias,” she says.

Related