Claims ranged from unwanted touching to sexually suggestive or racist comments and discriminatory business practices that unfairly impacted women and people of color. Those affected by their superiors' actions noted that in most cases, little was done to hold the perpetrators accountable.
According to the Wall Street Journal, at least six female employees reported being sexually harassed by senior managers, and while some were removed from their positions when their conduct was exposed, others were allowed to remain at the WEF. In one instance, head of technology and digital services posed as a doctor and got a female employee to take off her shirt. He was never reprimanded, and the woman was eventually fired, with higher-ups claiming her performance had declined. In another case, Schwab himself allegedly stood in a way that displayed his crotch and told a woman that he'd like to see her wearing a Hawaiian constume. He also allegedly told her that if he wasn't married, he'd want to be with her.
A further six women who became pregnant while working there claimed they had been discriminated against as a result. Some alleged they had been given poor performance reviews as a way to shuffle them out and bring in employees who were not preparing to give birth or recently returned from maternity leave.
Non-white employees told the Wall Street Journal that they felt as though they had been ignored for promotions or other career opportunities due to their race, and it was also alleged that a number of higher-ups used the "N-word" in their presence.
The WEF denied many of the allegations set forth in the report, with spokesman Yann Zopf claiming the outlet simply wanted to "mischaracterize our organization, culture and colleagues, including our founder."
