Few women in corporate America reach the levels that Lorene Schaefer and Theresa Metty attained. Schaefer was general counsel of General Electric’s $4.2 billion transportation business. Metty was senior vice president and chief procurement officer at Motorola, with annual compensation near $2 million.
But both women claim they hit the glass ceiling–an invisible barrier blamed for blocking women from realizing their career potential. Faced with demotion, Schaefer filed a class action lawsuit May 31, accusing GE of “systemic, company-wide discriminatory treatment” of female attorneys and managers. Passed over for promotion, demoted and subsequently terminated, Metty claimed Motorola made only “minimal effort to hire or promote women to executive positions.” She settled a sex discrimination suit for an undisclosed sum on March 8 as a jury trial was underway.
