Outback Steakhouse Advancement Criteria is Sexist

Posted by marykeating on January 11, 2010 under Gender orientation discrimination | Be the First to Comment

The EEOC negotiated a huge settlement with Outback Steakhouse restaurant chain on behalf of women who were unable to advance because of the company’s glass ceiling.

The management positions at Outback were filled by men.  To be considered for management positions, the applicant had to have kitchen experience.  Outback, however, did not give women the kitchen jobs.  That pattern led to a $19 million settlement that will be shared by a number of women who worked at Outback for at least three years between 2002 and now.

A settlement of this magnitude alone sends a cautionary message, and in most cases should inspire an employer to institute reforms.  But the settlement agreement itself requires Outback to make substantive changes in its application procedures, hire a “Vice President for People,” and hire an outside consultant for two years to monitor progress.  The EEOC will also require semi-annual reports.

The EEOC obtained a large verdict against Outback in 2001, based on a single instance of sex discrimination in pay, and retaliation against the woman who complained about her male counterpart making nearly double her salary.

Is it possible for a company to reform its discriminatory ways?  In this case, the EEOC’s oversight measures are designed to force both change and awareness of the impact of policies that result in discriminatory decisions, even if not consciously made.  But cultures favoring one sex or race can be difficult to alter.  If the Outback upper management has fostered a corporate culture of men-in-charge, it may not change in any systemic way.  On the other hand, the oversight and the boon to the women working at Outback should keep the decisions scrutinized for some time.  Perhaps the transparency will require Outback’s culture to evolve.