Six women employees including a non-resident Indian are suing their company, investment banking major Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, for sexual discrimination to the extent of £800 million.
Jyoti Ruta and her five colleagues, who are from the London and New York offices of DKW, the German banking giant, have filed the claim in a New York court, claiming they were treated as second-class citizens in the institution despite their qualifications and years of service and experience.
Ruta, a DKW capital markets director based in New York who has worked for the company since 1994, claimed that when a group of colleagues went out for a business dinner to celebrate the success of a deal, she was put under pressure to leave the meal so that the others (all male) could take the clients to a strip club.
Another of the group, Katherine Smith, from the London office, claimed that her male colleagues referred to her as the "Pamela Anderson of trading," a reference to the American blonde actress who is known for her silicon breast implants.
Ruta said in a statement: "We are confident that we will prevail in this litigation and ultimately show the rest of the financial community that you cannot continue to discriminate against women without paying the price."
DKW said it would "vigorously defend the matter" and that it "fully complies with all applicable employment laws and is confident that any claims to the contrary are without merit."