A former United Way executive has filed a $12 million lawsuit against the nonprofit alleging sexual discrimination and workplace retaliation.
Lisa Bowman was chief marketing officer and executive vice president for United Way Worldwide from November 2015 through February 2020. She alleges it was a hostile work environment culminating in her wrongful termination. She alleges her termination was in retaliation for reporting to United Way leaders what she described as a persistent pattern of sexual harassment against her and other female employees.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in the Virginia Circuit Court for the City of Alexandria where United Way is headquartered. It follows a four-year investigation into a March 2020 complaint filed by her with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which closed the matter last month without apparently substantiating her claims one way or the other.
Bowman, who previously spent 15 years as a marketing executive for UPS, alleges in her suit that she received overwhelmingly positive reviews during her time with United Way. But according to the suit, her relationship with management began to sour after she reported the allegedly suggestive comments made to her by a man she interviewed for a position with the nonprofit in 2017. His name is omitted from this article as he is not a named defendant.
The man, who was hired despite Bowman’s concerns, allegedly escalated his harassment, and even suggested they share an Airbnb rental with her while the two were attending an out-of-town conference. He also allegedly “commented on her hair, her glasses, and how her body looked in certain clothing” and began a pattern of leering at her and pacing outside her office multiple times per day despite the fact they worked on different floors.
According to Bowman, after failed attempts to resolve the matter, she reported it to human resources. Shortly afterward, in January 2020, she allegedly was told by then-CEO Brian Gallagher that she was being let go because “I don’t need you anymore” and was tasked with training her replacement before her final day of employment in February 2020.
Bowman, who later went public with the allegations, told The NonProfit Times that the publicity surrounding the ordeal has made it impossible for her to find employment comparable to the $435,144 in salary and other compensation she earned during her final year with organization, according to United Way’s federal Form 990 filing with the Internal Revenue Service for 2019. She has since cobbled together a combination of part-time and contract work, she said.
“After I went public with this, 20 other women came forward to the board (of United Way) and shared that during their time there, they had also either experienced or witnessed the same behavior,” Bowman said. “One woman even went public with allegations of assault during her time there. Why would I, not just as a leader but as a human and as a female, not speak out?”
At least one of the women later reached a confidential settlement with the organization, according to Bowman. United Way later retained a law firm to conduct an investigation into the various complaints. Leaders of the organization announced in February 2021 that the investigation had concluded with a finding that all policies and procedures had been followed appropriately. Gallagher stepped down from his CEO position shortly afterward.
Bowman, however, alleges that neither she nor any of the other women she spoke to were ever interviewed as part of that investigation. She said she has paid a dear price for speaking out and that her career has been “stolen” from her as a result. “I have essentially been blackballed from any type of job, nonprofit or private sector,” she said.
Despite the hardship, Bowman said it was right for her to speak out. “Silence equals complicity,” she said. “All of these companies have policies that require you to report this behavior. I followed that policy and lost my job for that, and I shouldn’t be the one paying the price.”
United Way leaders declined to comment on the lawsuit. At the time of publication, they also had yet to respond to a separate inquiry asking about past settlements of sexual discrimination claims including how much money, if any, was paid out or if any of them included non-disclosure agreements.
Read the suit here … https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24607638/bowmanlawsuit-v-united-way.pdf
