Jury: Novartis discriminated against women

A division of giant pharmaceutical company Novartis AG engaged in a pattern of discriminating against women, a U.S. jury ruled Monday in a class action lawsuit over pay, promotion and pregnancy.

Novartis should pay 12 women who sued the company in 2004 compensatory damages totaling $3.3 million and punitive damages, the jury in U.S. District Court in New York ruled after a six-week long trial.

The amount of the punitive damages was to be decided after a separate hearing before the jury on Tuesday.

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The lawsuit on behalf of about 5,600 current and former women employees alleged that while working for Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp, a U.S. division of the Basel, Switzerland-based company, they were systematically denied promotions, paid less and subjected to differential treatment.

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Representatives for the women in court papers said that complaints made to the company's human resources division were routinely ignored, and that pregnancies were often the source of discrimination.

Novartis has said it does not discriminate against women and has put in place policies to ensure work force equality.