Edward Jones was accused of systematically underpaying female advisors in an employment discrimination class-action lawsuit filed Thursday.
According to the suit, filed in Illinois Northern District Court, plaintiff Blair Zigler filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on or about June 14, alleging gender discrimination on behalf of herself and others similarly situated against Edward Jones.
Zigler, a former home office financial advisor, was employed at Edward Jones from July 2018 to February 2022.
Edward Jones employs more than 19,225 financial advisors and has 14,667 branch offices in the United States, according to the suit.
"But as of 2021 — nearly 100 years after the company was founded — only 21% of Edward Jones FAs are women," the suit states. "These disproportionate hiring statistics show that Edward Jones is aware of its tendency to favor male FAs over female FAs."
Edward Jones is not alone in having a mostly male advisor force. The share of CFPs who are women has been stuck around 23% for years, according to the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.
The suit states that Edward Jones' "leadership responsible for compensation policy decisions is predominately white and male."
Edward Jones, the suit states, "is well-aware that women FAs are significantly underrepresented in senior leadership, recently acknowledging that only 30% of its senior leadership are women."
The suit goes on to maintain that "due to long-standing systemic, company-wide discriminatory practices with respect to training, compensation, partnerships, sales support and business opportunities, female home office employees are denied wages and advancement opportunity on the basis of gender."
