Pay is sexist, too

Vice bias shows up in checks: suit

Vice Media pays female employees substantially less than men, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by a former project manager at the Brooklyn-based firm.

Elizabeth Rose, who worked at Vice’s New York headquarters and in its Los Angeles office from 2014 to 2016, said in her lawsuit that she had access to internal memos that revealed “substantial disparities” in the salaries of about 35 employees.

The disparity — which ranged from $15,000 to $50,000 a year — showed that women at the company “made far less than male employees for the same or substantially similar work.”

In one example, Rose hired her male subordinate but she later learned that he made about $25,000 a year more than she did, the suit claims.

The person, not named in the suit, was later promoted to be Rose’s supervisor. An executive senior to both told Rose the man got the promotion because he was a “good personality fit” for male clients, the suit claims.

Michael Morrison, Rose’s lawyer, believes 300 to 400 women may have been shortchanged by the alleged gender discrimination. The lawyer hopes to see the suit win class-action status.

In December, it was learned that Vice had settled four sexual harassment or defamation lawsuits filed by women — including one against President Andrew Creighton. The suits claimed co-founder Shane Smith fostered a “boys club” culture, according to the New York Times, which first reported on the settlements.

In the wake of the Times story, Smith and co-founder Suroosh Alvi posted a memo on the company Web site, saying, “Listening to our employees over the past year, the truth is inescapable: From the top down, we have failed as a company to create a safe and inclusive workplace where everyone, especially women, can feel respected and thrive.”

A Vice spokesperson said the company, which was founded in 1994, had just been made aware of the suit.

It has made a “significant commitment” to a respectful workplace, the spokesman said.