Prada gender discrimination case

The Prada gender discrimination case was a lawsuit filed in Japan by Prada ex-employee Rina Bovrisse accusing Prada of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace.^[1] The case is the first fashion case in history to be heard by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. In 2010, it started as an individual gender discrimination and sexual harassment case against a multi-national enterprise Prada Group at Tokyo Court. The case was globally recognized and created worldwide awareness of the unfair treatment Japanese women face every day in the workplace. ^[2] On October 2012, Tokyo District Court Judge Reiko Morioka ruled in favor of Prada, saying their alleged discrimination was “acceptable for a luxury fashion label.”^[3] Bovrisse, not satisfied with the ruling, took the issue to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. In May 2013, The UN backed Bovrisse over her four-year-long lawsuit. ^[4] The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has urged Japan to adopt legislation that would make sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace illegal. ^[5]

Background

Rina Bovrisse graduated from Parsons The New School for Design and, during her 18-year fashion career, worked at some of the world’s largest luxury fashion companies including Chanel SA and Prada USA. She worked at offices in New York, London, Hawaii and Paris.^[6] On the strength of her resume, Prada Japan hired Bovrisse, a Japanese national, in April 2009 as senior retail operations manager, responsible for overseeing 500 employees and 42 stores in Japan, Guam, and Saipan.^[7]

Prada Japan CEO Davide Sesia toured some of Japan’s 40 shops alongside newly hired Bovrisse.^[7] After this tour, Sesia told Bovrisse that fifteen shop managers and assistant managers needed to “disappear” because they were ugly, fat, or did not have “the Prada look.” Soon after, Senior Human Resources Manager Hiroyuki Takahashi gave demotion-transfer orders to thirteen of these employees, officially citing their poor sales numbers.^[7] H.R. Manager said, “We don’t like her teeth or body shape.” Then sent a demotion or transfer to the most remote area, if refused, had to give in the resignation. Ladies over 30 years old were considered old. They were normally demoted to and transferred to some countryside outlet from top No. 1 salesperson as manager, to entry-level salesperson at an outlet. They used to call outlets “garbage bins for old ladies.^[8][9]

In 2009, a female employee was physically abused. She didn’t have hair due to stress and depression from work. She said, she had been harassed but she was not worth because she was 40 years old. Every time the boss was angry, he would call her into the office and yell at her for an hour and throw a mobile phone at her face.^[8][9]

On Sept. 29, 2009, the Prada Japan H.R. manager came to Bovrisse's office at 7 p.m. and said, “Can I talk to you for a second?” He said, “I’m giving you an H.R. warning. You will have to change your hairstyle. And you will have to lose weight. The CEO is so ashamed of your ugliness that he won’t introduce you to any visitors from Milan.” He laughed and said, “Well, I fired [Prada brand] Miu Miu’s manager because she didn’t have good teeth.” Bovrisse e-mailed Prada's Global COO in Milan for help. He told her to send him all the evidence and no one would get fired. A few days later after she submitted the evidences, she was called in the office by the Prada Japan CEO and fired for "Bringing negative energy to the company by voicing sexual harassment". Prada Japan's CEO and H.R. Manager sent her home, accused her of unexcused absence and firing was her imagination. Bovrisse got in touch with a lawyer, because she didn’t know the law in Japan. Her lawyers recommended that she should go back to work and put a tape recorder on her leg under her skirt. She went back to work, but there was no computer on her desk. Prada H.R. Manager then, told her she was creating trouble by voicing these complaints [about] company policy, making up a story, bothering people’s work and because of these troubles, she was getting demoted and transferred from senior executive to salesperson. Her lawyer received a pre-written resignation form that said, “As was discussed and agreed, please sign your resignation”. They went back to the recording, and there was no such conversation. H.R. Manager told her lawyer, “Oh yes, we did talk about resignation. She was the one who said that she feels really bad that she created all this trouble at work, so she wanted to resign” The lawyer told him that “the last conversation she had, she had recorded and printed it on paper, and there is no conversation of resignation.” Prada's H.R. person hung up the phone. After that, Prada cut her health benefit and pension plan, everything. Prada responded by purging her from the company, accusing her of mental illness and escalate it until she never came back. This resulted Bovrisse to file a labor complaint on December, 2009.^[8][9][10]

Corporate Sexists

Carlo Mazzi

Carlo Mazzi, Prada Group's Chairman received over 227K petitions on Change.org. As many as 60,000 people signed a petition in just a week to urge Prada to withdraw its countersuit against a former employee who sued the company for firing her based on appearance.^[11]

Sebastian Suhl

Sebastian Suhl, has been accused as the key player of this sexual harassment and discrimination case. He was the Chief Operating Officer at Prada SpA. ^[12][13]Sebastian Suhl was reported as corporate sexist of sexual harassment case on the documents to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. ^[14]

Davide Sesia

Davide Sesia, former Prada Japan CEO was promoted as Prada Luxembourg CEO during this case.^[15]He was in charge of transactions when Prada Group went under investigation for alleged tax evasion.^[16]

Litigation

December 10, 2009 - Women's Rights Complaint - Bovrisse Against Prada Group

Bovrisse filed a complaint against Prada before an industrial tribunal, alleging sexual harassment and discrimination against women, violating women's rights in the workplace.^[17] On March 12, 2010, the judge declared that the parties had failed to settle, which would permit formal litigation to commence.^{[8] [18]}

March 19, 2010 - Women's Rights Case - Bovrisse Against Prada Group

Bovrisse filed a civil suit against Prada alleging violations of women's rights – Labor complaint moved up to a civil case against Prada alleging violations of women's rights.^[8][17] Prada countersued for damaging the company's image.^[19] The case was dismissed on October 26, 2012.^[20] Bovrisse, citing concerns of threats by the judge and suspicion of political intrigue, did not appeal this decision. Instead, she took her case to the United Nations. On April 30, 2013, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights published a counter-report,^[21][22][23] and on May 17, 2013, the United Nations Economic and Social Council released a statement to the Government of Japan urging to introduce new regulations that would make sexual harassment in the workplace illegal.^[24][25]

May 15, 2010 - Women's Rights Case - Two Former Prada Managers Against Prada Group

Two former Prada manager filed a civil lawsuit against Prada alleging violations of women's rights.^[26][27]

July 2010 - Defamation Case - Prada Group Carlo Mazzi Against Bovrisse

Prada Group Carlo Mazzi shamelessly countersued Bovrisse, alleging some $800,000 in damage to their brand name claiming her speaking out against Prada was libel.^[28]

Susan Chana Lask

Bovrisse is represented by New York's "High Powered", "High Profile" attorney Susan Chana Lask since 2014, and 5 local attorneys in Tokyo.^[29]

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

Prada Group is represented by 4 local attorneys of Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu corporate legal office in Tokyo.

References