1 THE ORIGIN Katie Moussouris, a Microsoft engineer specializing in security issues, claims she was told during her May 2012 performance review that she'd had an outstanding year, and on a scale of 1 to 5 she'd earned the second-highest rating, a 2-but because the number of employees who can get top ranks is capped, she got a 3 instead. The same thing happened in 2013. She left in 2014 and sued in 2015, alleging she was passed over for promotion in favor of less qualified men and was paid less than her male peers.2 THE LAWSUIT Moussouris and her lawyers sought class-action status on behalf of 8,000 women on the grounds that all were routinely discriminated against at Microsoft. The plaintiffs got a boost when U.S. District Judge James Robart ruled they could seek evidence from Microsoft. What the lawyers found gave them high hopes-for instance, according to one of the plaintiffs' expert witnesses, women at the company earn a "statistically significant" 8.6 percent less than men. Microsoft denies discriminating on pay and promotions.
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