According to the Bayer gender discrimination class action lawsuit, Bayer has published and disseminated articles that suggest men are better suited to be managers than women, describing females as prone to "mood swings," "indecision" and "backstabbing;" and concluding that "women with power are 'loose cannons' who often feel threatened by colleagues." The lawsuit also cites comments by managers disparaging working mothers and declaring that Bayer "needed to stop hiring women of reproductive age."

"Bayer engages in systemic discrimination against its female employees – particularly those with family responsibilities – by paying them less than their counterparts, denying them promotions into better and higher paying positions, limiting their employment opportunities to lower and less desirable job classifications, and exposing them to different treatment and a hostile work environment," said the attorney representing the class. "To make matters worse, Bayer is often blatant about its disregard for its female employees."

The plaintiffs in the Bayer class action lawsuit assert that senior managers have made negative comments about women discussing or acknowledging child-care responsibilities and have overlooked female employees who took federally-protected maternity leave for promotions.

In response to their complaints of discrimination and retaliation, the Class Representatives were told by Bayer managers they should "know better" and that "the company won't do anything about [their complaints]." Corroborating this lack of concern, the Bayer's Human Resources Department responded to females' complaints by characterizing gender discrimination as "a grey area" that should be handled by the employee, not the company.  

According to Class Representative Jennifer Musumeci, "We and the other women at Bayer take our careers very seriously, and our income is important to our families. For years, we tried to overcome the prejudice and discrimination at Bayer by proving ourselves to be even better than required. When that didn't work, we went to HR and Senior Management. Human Resources and Senior Management have failed us and Bayer's female employees. It is our hope that through the court, we can make things better for women at the Company."

The proposed class in the Bayer gender discrimination class action lawsuit includes all female employees of Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals situated in Associate Director positions or higher. Class members are seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, back pay, front pay and lost benefits, as well as compensatory, nominal and punitive damages in an amount of $100 million or more for themselves and similarly situated female employees.