Opinion ID: 757871
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Evidence of gender discrimination.

Text: 29 This conclusion, however, would not be enough to support the verdict. It may very well be that Hawkins, Tyson, and the entire Board had come to the point where they did not like Carey's style, finding him too openly critical of others and insensitive in his public utterances. If such were the real motivation for his discharge, it might or might not be fair but certainly would not be discrimination prohibited by law. It therefore was incumbent on Carey to introduce sufficient evidence to enable a reasonable jury to find that the justifications advanced by MDI for his discharge were a cover for an underlying anti-male animus. 30 In a case such as this, where a plaintiff must rely on circumstantial as opposed to direct evidence of gender discrimination, the evidence will necessarily be composed of bits and pieces, which may or may not point to an atmosphere of gender discrimination. While an employer should not find itself in jeopardy by reason of occasional stray remarks by ordinary employees, 31 circumstantial evidence of a discriminatory atmosphere at a plaintiff's place of employment is relevant to the question of motive in considering a discrimination claim.... [E]vidence of a corporate state-of-mind or a discriminatory atmosphere is not rendered irrelevant by its failure to coincide precisely with the particular actors or timeframe involved in the specific events that generated a claim of discriminatory treatment. 32 Conway v. Electro Switch Corp., 825 F.2d 593, 597-98 (1st Cir.1987) (citations omitted). 33 The record reveals the following evidence in support of Brennan's claim of sex based discriminatory animus: 34 --In August 1992, Fundraising and Public Relations Director (and member of the Management Committee) Carol Gordon had a discussion with Carey and another employee about a television program on child abuse at day care centers. She concluded the discussion with, we live in a patriarchal society, and men shirk their duties toward child raising. And because men have money, power and position, because they have penises, then this is the type of thing that happens as a result. Carey told Evans that the remarks were inappropriate and filed a sexual harassment complaint with the Personnel Director, Penny Evans. Shortly thereafter, Evans expressed regret to Carey that he had taken her remark the wrong way and that he had filed a complaint. 35 --In late 1992, the steering committee for MDI's new Women's Health Center, whose members included Jeanne DuLong, Director of Nursing, Evans, Gordon, and Carey (the only male), prepared a mission statement for the Center. As first drafted, the statement barred the employment of men, including male physicians. Carey objected to the draft, indicated it could be illegal and sought a legal opinion. After obtaining the opinion, the mission statement was changed so as not to exclude men. 36 --In the spring of 1993, a management committee member, Brian McCarthy, complained to Evans about another employee's having thrown water in his face. He testified that Evans was not receptive to his complaint, telling him not to worry about it. When he asked what she would do in the event water was thrown at a female employee, Evans said the person would probably be fired. She explained, we have different standards for men and women. 37 --Tyson, then Vice-Chair of the Board, helped secure the discharge of Mroch as President and CEO. Upon his termination in early 1993, she hired an executive search firm, placing Anna Phillips in charge of identifying a prospective CEO for MDI. In the summer of 1993, Gordon, Brian McCarthy, David Frongillo, Director of the MDI Pharmacy, and Hawkins, who was then a candidate, met with Phillips. Frongillo asked if there was a selection criterion involving gender, to which Gordon responded, it's about time that we get a woman for this position, and Phillips said that they would very much like to put a woman in that position. Meanwhile, Carey's own application received short shrift. He testified that Phillips interviewed him for only about thirty minutes, never asked about his qualifications, and appeared not to have read his resume. Tyson testified that Evans, DuLong, and Gordon had all told her that they would not be comfortable with Mr. Carey as CEO. 38 --By the time Hawkins was hired, Tyson and Gordon were close friends, as were Evans and Gordon, and all were uncomfortable with Carey. When Hawkins was hired, Tyson told her that she faced several challenges, one of which was the financial stability and ... that she might have some problems in the finance department. 39 --In late 1993, MDI conducted an employee opinion survey, a summary of which was placed in an administrative mailbox used by both Carey and Hawkins. Although obviously intended for Hawkins, Carey saw the responses and noted on the summary page a statement from an unnamed employee that Hawkins needed to take action against the power-hungry men in administration. Although the comment itself is entitled to little weight, that this message was intended for administration eyes and that the compiler of the survey results saw fit to place the comment on the summary page for Hawkins are more significant. 40 --Finally, Carey, when facing performance problems, appears to have been treated differently by Hawkins than were Evans, Gordon, and DuLong. Although only Carey and DuLong were Vice-Presidents, the other two were senior managers and all served on the Management Committee. The test is whether a prudent person, looking objectively at the incidents, would think them roughly equivalent and the protagonists similarly situated.... Exact correlation is neither likely nor necessary, but the cases must be fair congeners. Molloy, 115 F.3d at 91 (quoting Dartmouth Review v. Dartmouth College, 889 F.2d 13, 19 (1st Cir.1989)). All three women had encountered problems in their jobs and were given progressive discipline, i.e., assistance and time to take corrective action, rather than prompt termination. 41 MDI in its briefs and argument compartmentalizes the above evidence, isolating each incident, relationship, or statement, arguing that each has no bearing on any animus that could have influenced Hawkins. But all of the evidence was presented to the jury and we would find it very difficult indeed to say that the totality fell below a triable threshold. The statements and incidents did not relate to miscellaneous low level employees but to a fairly tight group of top officials. We therefore hold that there was sufficient evidence to support a finding that deficiencies in Carey's handling of financial controls were not the real reason for his discharge but instead covered an action stemming from gender discrimination. 42 We see no point in separately analyzing the court's refusal to order a new trial. As is evident from our discussion on the sufficiency of the evidence, we do not consider the court's action to be an abuse of discretion. See Simon v. Navon, 71 F.3d 9, 13 (1st Cir.1995).