Why The FBI Is Being Sued by These 16 Women | NowThis
1,688‘How can the agency that is entrusted to protect the civil rights of the United States so willingly violate the civil rights of women?’ — 16 women are suing the FBI over discrimination in their training academy. In partnership with Time's Up.
» Subscribe to NowThis: http://go.nowth.is/News_Subscribe
In US news, these 16 women are suing the FBI over alleged discrimination in the workplace, specifically discrimination against women. The former FBI trainee women spoke to NowThis News about the lawsuit and their FBI training experiences.
Erika Wesley: The FBI intentionally dismisses women at a higher rate than men and we are here to fight against that inequality. We all just want to be treated equally. We’re not asking for a lowering of standards. We’re asking for the exact same standards to be applied, regardless of gender, race, disability etc.
The FBI Academy at Quantico trains new agents and analysts on skills ranging from surveillance & firearm use to survival techniques. The former trainees say the Academy sets women up to fail.
Ava: From the moment I got there, there were comments on the way I was dressed, petty remarks down to my shoes.
The women say they each faced harassment & bias during their training.
Ava: Many of these women were former military like Dannielle [gestures to woman beside her], who were used to male-dominated fields and used to that type of power dynamic. With the FBI, it was so much worse than that.
Lauren Rose: I had a firearms instructor make comments to me about the size of my chest and why he couldn’t train me for something. And I remember being really, really angry and really, really insulted and brushing it off at the time because I survived an advance, that’s the mode I was in.
Ava: It only got worse as time went on. Eventually I was told that one of my instructors, Charles Rowe, was repeatedly inquiring into my personal life, my sex life, my marital status. [...]
Lauren Rose: No woman going through the academy — and no man for that matter — nobody should have to make a choice between self-respect and career preservation. Period.
Ava: I was repeatedly formally advised or warned that I had to smile more, be more approachable, look more pleasant, generally arrange my natural face to look like I have less of an attitude, even if I was walking by myself alone in a hallway between classes, I was told I need to look happier. Meanwhile, of course, they did not say this to my male colleagues
Erika Wesley: How can the agency that is entrusted to protect the civil rights of the United States so willingly violate the civil rights of women, people of color, disabilities?
The plaintiffs estimate 80% of FBI trainees dismissed before graduation were women.
Erika Wesley: We all performed exceptionally well. But when we didn’t fail on the merits, they constructed reasons to find fault with us.
Danielle Snider: Really it came down to luck — the women that graduated and the women didn’t it.
Ava: No girl is up here because they did not meet standards. We all met standards the first time around.
Lauren Rose: A week [before] graduation, they kicked me right out the door with very little explanation for it.
Erika Wesley: Though while still holding on to that statistic that they recruited a Hispanic female.
Lauren Rose: Look, we hired a Hispanic female agent. [...] There is no corresponding statistic for who they’re dismissing.
#FBI #Discrimination #Sexism #Lawsuit
Connect with NowThis
» Like us on Facebook: http://go.nowth.is/News_Facebook
» Tweet us on Twitter: http://go.nowth.is/News_Twitter
» Follow us on Instagram: http://go.nowth.is/News_Instagram
» Find us on Snapchat Discover: http://go.nowth.is/News_Snapchat
NowThis is your premier news outlet providing you with all the videos you need to stay up to date on all the latest in trending news. From entertainment to politics, to viral videos and breaking news stories, we’re delivering all you need to know straight to your social feeds. We live where you live.
http://www.youtube.com/nowthisnews
@nowthisnews