A US journalist is taking her former employer to court over what she claims was a sexism-related demotion.
Reporter Diana Falzone is accusing Fox News of gender discrimination, alleging that banned from on-air appearances after penning a piece about her struggle with fertility.
Falzone's piece, "Women Should Never Suffer in Silence" detailed her struggle with endometriosis, a gynaecological condition that's caused her fertility problems.
According to the suit she's taking, Falzone had gotten approval to write the piece, which was published on Foz News' digital section.
In the piece, Falzone wrote: "I’ve been reluctant to share the story of my infertility because it is so personal. But I was persuaded by the manager in my doctor’s office to tell my story because, as she put it, 'Many women suffer in silence alone. Please share your story.'
"I am not alone. I am one of an estimated 176 million women globally who suffer with endometriosis, a chronic condition where endometrial tissue grows outside of the uterus on other organs or structures in the body. There is often an autoimmune component to the disease."
However, three days after Fox ran the story she was told by her supervisor that network execs decided she would no longer appear on Fox News (either on air or on the website). According to Falzone was apparently given no reason for the decision and reportedly had, up until that point, consistently received positive performance evaluations.
While the actual filing doesn't delve into why Falzone believes she was penalised, her lawyer Nancy Erika Smith.
"The issues raised in Diana Falzone's lawsuit are a concern for all women," said Smith. "Fox News never banned her male counterparts who have discussed their personal health issues on air. Indeed, those men saw their careers advance."
Since filing the lawsuit in early May, Falzone has added 'retaliation' to her filing. She said that because of her legal action, she's been assigned 'ministerial and entry-level tasks'
In her amended complaint, she claims that since she filed her lawsuit, most of her story ideas have been rejected, when her bosses had been more amenable before that. She claims that she has been given only entry-level tasks that are typically given to interns and trainees. She said that the network has refused to put her back on the air and called her employer's actions “a malicious course of retaliatory conduct designed to ruin her career.”
If Falzone's claims are true, this would add to the spate of sexism accusations which led to the high-profile resignations of Fox founder and CEO Roger Ailes in August. Falzone's lawyer represented Gretchen Carlson, whose lawsuit led to a series of other sexism allegations from Fox employees, past and present.
Fox cable-news kingpin Bill O'Reilly was fired from the station in April after it was revealed that he and station have paid out more than $13m in settlements to women who had alleged sexual harassment.
