A lawsuit brought by 16 women, some current agents, alleges the FBI discriminates in training and evaluation of agents and analysts in Quantico, Virginia, and over 100 women have been victims, according to NBC News.
"The FBI has intentionally allowed the Good Old Boy Network to flourish unrestrained at the FBI Academy," the lawsuit claims, per the report. "Training Division staff, including instructors, supervisors, field counselors, managers, and review board members, frequently dismiss mistakes made by male trainees as isolated incidents, determine male trainees to be retrainable, and retain them at the Academy at a disproportionately higher rate than their female trainee counterparts."
The lawsuit is proposed as a class action, but the class has yet to be certified, according to the report. It alleges between 2015-2018 an estimated 80 percent of Quantico trainees discharged before graduation were female.
"If it was currently based on merit, we wouldn't be filing a lawsuit," Clare Coetzer told NBC News. "They pick and choose who they want to leave."
The average graduating class has been around 20% female, according to FBI statistics. In 2019 to date, 32% of those enrolled in training are female, according to the FBI.
"They made me feel like I was worthless and disposable," a plaintiff, who asked to be identified only as "Ava," told NBC News.
The FBI did not respond to questions from NBC News, but it did issue a statement:
"While we are unable to comment on litigation, the FBI is committed to fostering a work environment where all of our employees are valued and respected. Diversity is one of our core values, and to effectively accomplish our mission of protecting the American people we need people of different genders, backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives."
Time's Up Legal Defense Fund is helping to fund the lawsuit, per the report.
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