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The Company That Sells Love to America Had a Dark Secret	The Company That Sells Love to America Had a Dark Secret
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The pay-and-promotions lawsuit against Sterling Jewelers Inc. began the way a lot of these things begin: In 2005, Dawn Souto-Coons walked out of the jewelry store where she had been a successful assistant manager and into a local Tampa-area employment office, claiming sex discrimination in her store. She had been working at a Jared the Galleria of Jewelry for nearly four years. But it was only in the last few months that she began to understand that the thing that kept happening to her there, the thing that seemed to keep happening to so many of the women there, went beyond the regular, standard-issue sexism she had been hearing about her whole life. But what woman is certain that the problem isn’t her, but them?	The pay-and-promotions lawsuit against Sterling Jewelers Inc. began the way a lot of these things begin: In 2005, Dawn Souto-Coons walked out of the jewelry store where she had been a successful assistant manager and into a local Tampa-area employment office, claiming sex discrimination in her store. She had been working at a Jared the Galleria of Jewelry for nearly four years. But it was only in the last few months that she began to understand that the thing that kept happening to her there, the thing that seemed to keep happening to so many of the women there, went beyond the regular, standard-issue sexism she had been hearing about her whole life. But what woman is certain that the problem isn’t her, but them?
She had been with Sterling for nearly 14 years by then. Previously, she was a manager at another Sterling store, a J.B. Robinson, when her husband relocated to Florida for work. She asked the company for a transfer, too, and was offered an assistant-manager position at a Jared that hadn’t yet opened. Jared was a relatively new concept, Sterling’s first stand-alone, nonmall store with high-end everything, a drink when you walked through the door, a sandwich, too, Rolexes that you couldn’t find in any of the mall jewelry shops. Dawn loved jewelry. She loved being a character in her customers’ stories about a happy day of their lives. She was excited about the even higher-end jewelry that Jared would sell. The idea of working with the really good stuff made the demotion palatable. She told me she took the job on the condition that she would be in the running for the first manager post that opened up.	She had been with Sterling for nearly 14 years by then. Previously, she was a manager at another Sterling store, a J.B. Robinson, when her husband relocated to Florida for work. She asked the company for a transfer, too, and was offered an assistant-manager position at a Jared that hadn’t yet opened. Jared was a relatively new concept, Sterling’s first stand-alone, nonmall store with high-end everything, a drink when you walked through the door, a sandwich, too, Rolexes that you couldn’t find in any of the mall jewelry shops. Dawn loved jewelry. She loved being a character in her customers’ stories about a happy day of their lives. She was excited about the even higher-end jewelry that Jared would sell. The idea of working with the really good stuff made the demotion palatable. She told me she took the job on the condition that she would be in the running for the first manager post that opened up.
But she wasn’t. Not when the manager left for training to be a district manager; not when that man was replaced by a man who had just two years of experience at another jewelry store along with a few years of nonjewelry experience at a Men’s Wearhouse. She reminded her district manager that over the course of her tenure, she had helped take the J.B. Robinson from around $800,000 in sales to more than $3 million, but she wasn’t even given an interview. Instead, she was made acting manager while her district manager looked for someone new. The manager he hired made dirty jokes about the bodies of female customers who walked in and shopped. But at the same time, her district manager brought in a manager in waiting, a man who would train under Dawn at a manager’s salary so that he could be fast-tracked to management. The manager in waiting told a female sales associate that he wanted to “lick her head to toe,” Dawn told me. He also would sometimes ask a saleswoman if she would meet him and a few others at the Bennigan’s nearby, but when the woman got there, she’d find that she was the only one he’d asked. He was soon promoted to another store, and yet another man was made store manager. It wasn’t that Dawn felt entitled to the manager position. She simply wanted to be allowed to interview for it. She never was.	But she wasn’t. Not when the manager left for training to be a district manager; not when that man was replaced by a man who had just two years of experience at another jewelry store along with a few years of nonjewelry experience at a Men’s Wearhouse. She reminded her district manager that over the course of her tenure, she had helped take the J.B. Robinson from around $800,000 in sales to more than $3 million, but she wasn’t even given an interview. Instead, she was made acting manager while her district manager looked for someone new. The manager he hired made dirty jokes about the bodies of female customers who walked in and shopped. But at the same time, her district manager brought in a manager in waiting, a man who would train under Dawn at a manager’s salary so that he could be fast-tracked to management. The manager in waiting told a female sales associate that he wanted to “lick her head to toe,” Dawn told me. He also would sometimes ask a saleswoman if she would meet him and a few others at the Bennigan’s nearby, but when the woman got there, she’d find that she was the only one he’d asked. He was soon promoted to another store, and yet another man was made store manager. It wasn’t that Dawn felt entitled to the manager position. She simply wanted to be allowed to interview for it. She never was.
She found out about the pay issue by accident. She had helped recruit Marie Wolf, a woman who had sold a million dollars’ worth of jewelry in one year at the Service Merchandise down the road. According to Dawn, her manager didn’t seem to like Marie, despite the fact that Dawn said she was the top salesperson not just at Service Merchandise but now at Jared as well. She didn’t have “the Jared look,” the manager told Dawn. Marie was tall and wore pants and blouses, not short skirt-suits, and she wore little makeup. One day Marie asked for a raise, and the manager told her she was already making more than any other salesperson in the store.	She found out about the pay issue by accident. She had helped recruit Marie Wolf, a woman who had sold a million dollars’ worth of jewelry in one year at the Service Merchandise down the road. According to Dawn, her manager didn’t seem to like Marie, despite the fact that Dawn said she was the top salesperson not just at Service Merchandise but now at Jared as well. She didn’t have “the Jared look,” the manager told Dawn. Marie was tall and wore pants and blouses, not short skirt-suits, and she wore little makeup. One day Marie asked for a raise, and the manager told her she was already making more than any other salesperson in the store.

Dawn knew better. While she was acting manager, she had access to payroll forms and had seen some discrepancies: in particular, that a male sales associate who was recently recruited from a tile store was making $2 an hour more than Marie. The egregiousness of the manager’s lie bothered Dawn. That night, after the manager went home, she closed the door to the administrative office and took out all the payroll records and spread them out over the desks. One by one she saw it: There were seven women and five men who were counted as full-time sales associates. In only one case was a woman making more than a man, and it was only when you compared the highest-paid woman with the lowest-paid man. The women’s hourly wages averaged $10.39, and the men’s averaged $13.40 — so that on average, a woman working a 30-hour workweek for 52 weeks each year would make $16,208.40 before bonuses, while a man working the same amount would make $20,904. The men did not have more experience, nor were they quantifiably better salespeople.	Dawn knew better. While she was acting manager, she had access to payroll forms and had seen some discrepancies: in particular, that a male sales associate who was recently recruited from a tile store was making $2 an hour more than Marie. The egregiousness of the manager’s lie bothered Dawn. That night, after the manager went home, she closed the door to the administrative office and took out all the payroll records and spread them out over the desks. One by one she saw it: There were seven women and five men who were counted as full-time sales associates. In only one case was a woman making more than a man, and it was only when you compared the highest-paid woman with the lowest-paid man. The women’s hourly wages averaged $10.39, and the men’s averaged $13.40 — so that on average, a woman working a 30-hour workweek for 52 weeks each year would make $16,208.40 before bonuses, while a man working the same amount would make $20,904. The men did not have more experience, nor were they quantifiably better salespeople.
There is a precise algorithm that lives in the heart of every woman, one that alerts her when the injustice she is experiencing outweighs the joy. Dawn saw those payroll records and knew she couldn’t stand for it anymore.	There is a precise algorithm that lives in the heart of every woman, one that alerts her when the injustice she is experiencing outweighs the joy. Dawn saw those payroll records and knew she couldn’t stand for it anymore.
Dawn told Marie what she had seen in the payroll records. That’s when they went together to the office of an employment lawyer for help. That was nearly 14 years ago. Dawn has now been waiting for the resolution of the lawsuit for as long as she worked at the company. Fourteen years was a long time to abide deep and overt discrimination at your job. It’s also a long time to be a named claimant in a lawsuit, which at one point grew to include nearly 70,000 women. It is a long time for that lawsuit to have made just about no progress toward a resolution. And it is a long time to wonder just how an enormous, publicly traded company was able to keep the details of its working conditions from its shareholders and from the public, and why those secrets might have been the company’s most valuable assets after all.	Dawn told Marie what she had seen in the payroll records. That’s when they went together to the office of an employment lawyer for help. That was nearly 14 years ago. Dawn has now been waiting for the resolution of the lawsuit for as long as she worked at the company. Fourteen years was a long time to abide deep and overt discrimination at your job. It’s also a long time to be a named claimant in a lawsuit, which at one point grew to include nearly 70,000 women. It is a long time for that lawsuit to have made just about no progress toward a resolution. And it is a long time to wonder just how an enormous, publicly traded company was able to keep the details of its working conditions from its shareholders and from the public, and why those secrets might have been the company’s most valuable assets after all.
If Sterling Jewelers Inc. isn’t a familiar name to you, it’s probably not because the company isn’t a part of your life. Sterling and its parent company, Signet, own the jewelry stores that dominate the malls and strip malls, with brands like Kay, Jared the Galleria of Jewelry, Osterman, J.B. Robinson, Zales and a dozen others. Often a set of two or three jewelry stores that appear to be competing in a mall are all owned by Signet, its own hall of mirrors.	If Sterling Jewelers Inc. isn’t a familiar name to you, it’s probably not because the company isn’t a part of your life. Sterling and its parent company, Signet, own the jewelry stores that dominate the malls and strip malls, with brands like Kay, Jared the Galleria of Jewelry, Osterman, J.B. Robinson, Zales and a dozen others. Often a set of two or three jewelry stores that appear to be competing in a mall are all owned by Signet, its own hall of mirrors.
The company spent the ’90s and early 2000s buying up local branches of family-owned jewelry stores and incorporating them into Sterling. By the time Signet acquired Zales in 2014, it owned more than 3,600 stores — 7 percent of the specialty jewelry market in the United States, selling nearly $6 billion in jewelry a year. It is the largest jewelry retailer in the United States.	The company spent the ’90s and early 2000s buying up local branches of family-owned jewelry stores and incorporating them into Sterling. By the time Signet acquired Zales in 2014, it owned more than 3,600 stores — 7 percent of the specialty jewelry market in the United States, selling nearly $6 billion in jewelry a year. It is the largest jewelry retailer in the United States.
Sterling took jewelry off its velvet avenues and made it available to people where they were, so that it would be easy to follow the company’s Pied Piper jingles to acquisition: “Every Kiss Begins With Kay”; “He Went to Jared.” The company’s commercials were just as ubiquitous as its stores: A woman in a thunderstorm scared by the lightning leaps into her fellow’s arms, happy to find both safety from bad weather and a silver Love’s Embrace necklace that he bought her, which looks like arms hugging a gem; or the scene of a chaotic family Christmas, in which the man pulls the woman outside into the snow and gives her a necklace from the 3-Stone Collection, which looks like what it sounds like, and she therefore starts kissing him romantically. This is how powerful the company’s marketing is: In the 1980s, a massive amount of brown diamonds, which were historically used in industrial settings, were mined, but they never took off as a commercial product. In 2000, Le Vian, which sells in Sterling stores, marketed them not as brown but as chocolate. Chocolate diamonds are now a thing.	Sterling took jewelry off its velvet avenues and made it available to people where they were, so that it would be easy to follow the company’s Pied Piper jingles to acquisition: “Every Kiss Begins With Kay”; “He Went to Jared.” The company’s commercials were just as ubiquitous as its stores: A woman in a thunderstorm scared by the lightning leaps into her fellow’s arms, happy to find both safety from bad weather and a silver Love’s Embrace necklace that he bought her, which looks like arms hugging a gem; or the scene of a chaotic family Christmas, in which the man pulls the woman outside into the snow and gives her a necklace from the 3-Stone Collection, which looks like what it sounds like, and she therefore starts kissing him romantically. This is how powerful the company’s marketing is: In the 1980s, a massive amount of brown diamonds, which were historically used in industrial settings, were mined, but they never took off as a commercial product. In 2000, Le Vian, which sells in Sterling stores, marketed them not as brown but as chocolate. Chocolate diamonds are now a thing.
The employment lawyer Dawn and Marie eventually contacted in 2005, Sam J. Smith, knew that Sterling was a large company with stores across the country. He realized that the things they were saying indicated what might be a systemic problem. He called Thomas Warren, with whom he had worked on the historically large class-action discrimination suit against the restaurant chain Shoney’s, who in turn called Joseph Sellers, a partner at a large firm specializing in civil rights that could sustain what might be a bigger lawsuit than Dawn and Marie, in their one store, had ever imagined.	The employment lawyer Dawn and Marie eventually contacted in 2005, Sam J. Smith, knew that Sterling was a large company with stores across the country. He realized that the things they were saying indicated what might be a systemic problem. He called Thomas Warren, with whom he had worked on the historically large class-action discrimination suit against the restaurant chain Shoney’s, who in turn called Joseph Sellers, a partner at a large firm specializing in civil rights that could sustain what might be a bigger lawsuit than Dawn and Marie, in their one store, had ever imagined.
The lawyers told Dawn and Marie to tell their colleagues who had worked at Sterling properties to contact them if they had a similar complaint. But all the employees had signed a mandatory arbitration agreement in the flood of paperwork that accompanied their hiring at Sterling — everyone did at the time. Arbitration meant that instead of being heard in a public court, they had to proceed privately in Sterling’s in-house system, called Resolve. The first step of Resolve was an internal investigation. If the employee wasn’t satisfied by the results of that investigation, he or she could ask to be heard by a panel of the employee’s peers and an employment lawyer, all selected by Sterling. If the employee was still dissatisfied, the case was sent to arbitration. Sterling paid the arbitrator. The hearing’s proceedings were carried out with judicial oversight, but they were done in private, and their outcome was sealed. Afterward, if there was a settlement, the employee often had to sign a nondisclosure agreement that prohibited the employee from speaking about the case again. The benefit of arbitration to the employee was that the claim was usually resolved more speedily. The benefit to the company was that it was resolved in secret. The secrecy was the point.	The lawyers told Dawn and Marie to tell their colleagues who had worked at Sterling properties to contact them if they had a similar complaint. But all the employees had signed a mandatory arbitration agreement in the flood of paperwork that accompanied their hiring at Sterling — everyone did at the time. Arbitration meant that instead of being heard in a public court, they had to proceed privately in Sterling’s in-house system, called Resolve. The first step of Resolve was an internal investigation. If the employee wasn’t satisfied by the results of that investigation, he or she could ask to be heard by a panel of the employee’s peers and an employment lawyer, all selected by Sterling. If the employee was still dissatisfied, the case was sent to arbitration. Sterling paid the arbitrator. The hearing’s proceedings were carried out with judicial oversight, but they were done in private, and their outcome was sealed. Afterward, if there was a settlement, the employee often had to sign a nondisclosure agreement that prohibited the employee from speaking about the case again. The benefit of arbitration to the employee was that the claim was usually resolved more speedily. The benefit to the company was that it was resolved in secret. The secrecy was the point.
One by one, Dawn and Marie’s colleagues called the confidential toll-free number the law firms had set up. Hundreds of women called. The lawyers heard consistent stories from across brands and stores and regions about pay disparity, but the employees didn’t know what others had been through — in arbitration, the proceedings are so secretive that the lawyers weren’t allowed to tell other women in the suit what had happened to them. The women and men I interviewed told me that they were instructed upon their hiring that they were not allowed to discuss their wages with their co-workers — and some, who were managers, told me they were instructed to enforce those restrictions — but that didn’t stop some of the salesmen from bragging.	One by one, Dawn and Marie’s colleagues called the confidential toll-free number the law firms had set up. Hundreds of women called. The lawyers heard consistent stories from across brands and stores and regions about pay disparity, but the employees didn’t know what others had been through — in arbitration, the proceedings are so secretive that the lawyers weren’t allowed to tell other women in the suit what had happened to them. The women and men I interviewed told me that they were instructed upon their hiring that they were not allowed to discuss their wages with their co-workers — and some, who were managers, told me they were instructed to enforce those restrictions — but that didn’t stop some of the salesmen from bragging.
[Read essays from women across the working world about sexual harassment.]	[Read essays from women across the working world about sexual harassment.]
But then, almost incidentally, the lawyers started to hear about other things. Women contacting them talked about groping and sexual coercion and sexual degradation and rape. Eventually they amassed more than 200 sworn statements from women who, for the most part, didn’t know one another. Some men gave statements, too, haunted by what they had seen at the company and what they had participated in.	But then, almost incidentally, the lawyers started to hear about other things. Women contacting them talked about groping and sexual coercion and sexual degradation and rape. Eventually they amassed more than 200 sworn statements from women who, for the most part, didn’t know one another. Some men gave statements, too, haunted by what they had seen at the company and what they had participated in.
There was Diane Acampora, in Lancaster, Pa., who said that after five years at Kay and six years of experience at another store she made $2 to $4 less per hour than her more-recently-hired, less-experienced male colleagues. When she was promoted to manager, she attended the company’s annual managers’ meeting in Florida. On a shuttle bus back to the resort, she was pulled onto the lap of a manager, who held her tightly as he fondled her. At the same meeting, a district manager tried to kiss her. At a later meeting, she had to leave a hot tub because discussion turned uncomfortably sexual. She was later told that the hot-tub scene turned into an orgy.	There was Diane Acampora, in Lancaster, Pa., who said that after five years at Kay and six years of experience at another store she made $2 to $4 less per hour than her more-recently-hired, less-experienced male colleagues. When she was promoted to manager, she attended the company’s annual managers’ meeting in Florida. On a shuttle bus back to the resort, she was pulled onto the lap of a manager, who held her tightly as he fondled her. At the same meeting, a district manager tried to kiss her. At a later meeting, she had to leave a hot tub because discussion turned uncomfortably sexual. She was later told that the hot-tub scene turned into an orgy.
There was Jacqueline Bailey, who, as a sales associate at a Jared in Virginia, was making $11 an hour and had to listen to a male employee brag about being paid more than the women in the store.	There was Jacqueline Bailey, who, as a sales associate at a Jared in Virginia, was making $11 an hour and had to listen to a male employee brag about being paid more than the women in the store.
And Susan Ballard, an experienced store manager in Savannah, Ga., who watched a male manager in training be offered the higher-volume store she had specifically asked to interview for, which that manager in training then turned down because he didn’t want to relocate. When she was finally promoted, she went to the annual managers’ meeting, and a district manager asked her to join him in one of the hot tubs in the resort. She refused. She heard that her roommate and another few female store managers went back to an executive’s hotel room together.	And Susan Ballard, an experienced store manager in Savannah, Ga., who watched a male manager in training be offered the higher-volume store she had specifically asked to interview for, which that manager in training then turned down because he didn’t want to relocate. When she was finally promoted, she went to the annual managers’ meeting, and a district manager asked her to join him in one of the hot tubs in the resort. She refused. She heard that her roommate and another few female store managers went back to an executive’s hotel room together.
There was Amanda Barger, a sales associate who made her way up to assistant manager — who, after five years of employment, complained that she was still making her starting salary but was brushed off by her manager; who watched the new guy who previously worked at a cellphone-cover kiosk be promoted ahead of her; who dared to complain to H.R. after her district manager invited her to a Chili’s with a few other managers and, while they were eating, texted her from across the table, “I want to come on your tits.”	There was Amanda Barger, a sales associate who made her way up to assistant manager — who, after five years of employment, complained that she was still making her starting salary but was brushed off by her manager; who watched the new guy who previously worked at a cellphone-cover kiosk be promoted ahead of her; who dared to complain to H.R. after her district manager invited her to a Chili’s with a few other managers and, while they were eating, texted her from across the table, “I want to come on your tits.”
These accounts weren’t curated for maximum salaciousness. It is just a selection of the A’s and B’s.	These accounts weren’t curated for maximum salaciousness. It is just a selection of the A’s and B’s.
The sworn statements, when read from beginning to end, are shocking, first for the consistency of horrors across cities and regions. Then for the egregiousness and audacity of the abuse they detail. But as you make your way through the declarations — to that of a woman in Missouri who, upon finding her store manager with his penis exposed, was asked if she wanted to join in, or another woman, whose manager felt her up while her boyfriend, also a Sterling employee, was facing another direction — they become shocking simply for their volume. When you finally get to the end — Tammy Zenner, who was called Texas Tammy by her colleagues because of the size of her breasts and who complained to her store manager that an executive visiting the store had rubbed himself against her from behind but was told when she complained that she should be flattered — another wave of shock hits you. Hot-tub orgies? At the company that has so profoundly contributed to our notions of gauzy romance and surprise Valentine’s gifts and new and abundant ways to show a woman how she is treasured?	The sworn statements, when read from beginning to end, are shocking, first for the consistency of horrors across cities and regions. Then for the egregiousness and audacity of the abuse they detail. But as you make your way through the declarations — to that of a woman in Missouri who, upon finding her store manager with his penis exposed, was asked if she wanted to join in, or another woman, whose manager felt her up while her boyfriend, also a Sterling employee, was facing another direction — they become shocking simply for their volume. When you finally get to the end — Tammy Zenner, who was called Texas Tammy by her colleagues because of the size of her breasts and who complained to her store manager that an executive visiting the store had rubbed himself against her from behind but was told when she complained that she should be flattered — another wave of shock hits you. Hot-tub orgies? At the company that has so profoundly contributed to our notions of gauzy romance and surprise Valentine’s gifts and new and abundant ways to show a woman how she is treasured?
The women’s lawyers pursued class action because it would have been impractical to file separate suits for the number of women who were affected. Also a suit with a large number of women stood a better chance of changing the company’s culture and policies for good. The case wasn’t brought as a sexual-harassment or hostile-work-environment claim, in part because it can be hard to prove that a culture of harassment was widely endorsed by an entire company.	The women’s lawyers pursued class action because it would have been impractical to file separate suits for the number of women who were affected. Also a suit with a large number of women stood a better chance of changing the company’s culture and policies for good. The case wasn’t brought as a sexual-harassment or hostile-work-environment claim, in part because it can be hard to prove that a culture of harassment was widely endorsed by an entire company.
The pay-and-promotions case went on for years. There were appeals. Then more appeals. There were motions. There were more motions. Back and forth, back and forth. In 2015, the arbitrator, a retired judge, granted the women class certification, bringing the number of claimants to 69,000. By 2017, the women’s lawyers were finally allowed to share the stories of some of the other participants in the case, because it’s a rule of the American Arbitration Association that at least some evidence from arbitration cases can be publicized when they involve a class. It was only then, 12 years after Dawn first quit, that she understood the extent of the company’s abuse. She had thought this was just a simple wage-gap case. But now the black box of private arbitration was open, and the light shone on the ugliest abuses of power she could imagine, and she could barely stand it. Dawn read those statements and cried.	The pay-and-promotions case went on for years. There were appeals. Then more appeals. There were motions. There were more motions. Back and forth, back and forth. In 2015, the arbitrator, a retired judge, granted the women class certification, bringing the number of claimants to 69,000. By 2017, the women’s lawyers were finally allowed to share the stories of some of the other participants in the case, because it’s a rule of the American Arbitration Association that at least some evidence from arbitration cases can be publicized when they involve a class. It was only then, 12 years after Dawn first quit, that she understood the extent of the company’s abuse. She had thought this was just a simple wage-gap case. But now the black box of private arbitration was open, and the light shone on the ugliest abuses of power she could imagine, and she could barely stand it. Dawn read those statements and cried.
Sterling successfully appealed part of the class certification, reducing the number of women in the case by tens of thousands. The women have appealed the decertification ruling in federal court and have been awaiting a decision since last May. Whichever side loses can petition for review by the Supreme Court. All this to say: After all these years, the case has progressed only up to the part that determines how many women are part of it.	Sterling successfully appealed part of the class certification, reducing the number of women in the case by tens of thousands. The women have appealed the decertification ruling in federal court and have been awaiting a decision since last May. Whichever side loses can petition for review by the Supreme Court. All this to say: After all these years, the case has progressed only up to the part that determines how many women are part of it.
When several of the case files became public following class certification, The Washington Post ran a handful of articles on the case, as did the TV news. But as the women wait for a decision in the appeal, the story has faded. The rules of arbitration remain in place: The lawyers can’t talk to the press about anything that hasn’t been made public already. David Bouffard, a spokesman from Sterling whom I met with and spoke with several times, told me that he couldn’t speak with me on the record because of the rules of arbitration, but that the company denies any claims of gender discrimination in pay and promotions and says it is defending its innocence. Sterling says that the original suit that was filed was about pay-and-promotion inequity, and that harassment has nothing to do with it. Sterling has, since Dawn and Marie first met with their lawyer, instituted a gender-blind algorithm for determining pay and an intranet program that allowed employees to post their interest in promotion, and says it has eliminated Resolve for any complaints that occurred after 2018. In 2017, Sterling hired its first female chief executive, Virginia Drosos, and has worked to achieve gender equity on its board and in the highest levels of the company. The first female board director was named in 2008; now there are six.	When several of the case files became public following class certification, The Washington Post and The New York Times ran a handful of articles on the case, as did the TV news. But as the women wait for a decision in the appeal, the story has faded. The rules of arbitration remain in place: The lawyers can’t talk to the press about anything that hasn’t been made public already. David Bouffard, a spokesman from Sterling whom I met with and spoke with several times, told me that he couldn’t speak with me on the record because of the rules of arbitration, but that the company denies any claims of gender discrimination in pay and promotions and says it is defending its innocence. Sterling says that the original suit that was filed was about pay-and-promotion inequity, and that harassment has nothing to do with it. Sterling has, since Dawn and Marie first met with their lawyer, instituted a gender-blind algorithm for determining pay and an intranet program that allowed employees to post their interest in promotion, and says it has eliminated Resolve for any complaints that occurred after 2018. In 2017, Sterling hired its first female chief executive, Virginia Drosos, and has worked to achieve gender equity on its board and in the highest levels of the company. The first female board director was named in 2008; now there are six.
The women who signed their names to their statements were permitted by the rules of arbitration to speak with me if they didn’t identify the men who were accused of wrongdoing. But those women had friends who had no such obligations, and if you spend a long enough time on a story, people will hear you’re interested and start calling you. The documents that were made public were heavily redacted, but sometimes those redactions were incomplete enough for me to figure out who was implicated. I spoke with women who were not included in the lawsuit, and to men who were witnesses and also to men who were not witnesses. I spoke to former Sterling employees and some current ones, around the country — more than three dozen in all. What emerged was not just a list of individual horrors and degradations but an accounting of the systems put in place that allowed the abuse to proliferate and kept it from ever becoming known either to the other women at the company or to the public. What emerged was a portrait of a company that the women said felt all-powerful and was often vindictive to them; a company the women were afraid to run afoul of; a company that was, at various times, described to me as “the Wolf of Wall Street,” but for mall jewelry, and “the Gestapo meets Studio 54.”	The women who signed their names to their statements were permitted by the rules of arbitration to speak with me if they didn’t identify the men who were accused of wrongdoing. But those women had friends who had no such obligations, and if you spend a long enough time on a story, people will hear you’re interested and start calling you. The documents that were made public were heavily redacted, but sometimes those redactions were incomplete enough for me to figure out who was implicated. I spoke with women who were not included in the lawsuit, and to men who were witnesses and also to men who were not witnesses. I spoke to former Sterling employees and some current ones, around the country — more than three dozen in all. What emerged was not just a list of individual horrors and degradations but an accounting of the systems put in place that allowed the abuse to proliferate and kept it from ever becoming known either to the other women at the company or to the public. What emerged was a portrait of a company that the women said felt all-powerful and was often vindictive to them; a company the women were afraid to run afoul of; a company that was, at various times, described to me as “the Wolf of Wall Street,” but for mall jewelry, and “the Gestapo meets Studio 54.”
The thing is, it was a good job.	The thing is, it was a good job.
So many of the women I spoke with said it was glamorous. It was fun. The Sterling workers ruled the malls. Remember, this was the hot-pink-neon “Miami Vice” ’80s, then the ’90s, then the 2000s. Malls were alive; they were where everyone was. And the Sterling women — you could spot them in an instant by their swagger. They wore blazers and skirt sets from Casual Corner (“like a bunch of Ally McBeals,” one former saleswoman told me), their hair done up in French twists, their nails manicured, everything perfection, not like the side-ponied kids at the Gap in their shlumpy sweaters or the acid-washed stoners running the Orange Julius. They were the public face of what was becoming the biggest jewelry company in the world. What is sexier than that?	So many of the women I spoke with said it was glamorous. It was fun. The Sterling workers ruled the malls. Remember, this was the hot-pink-neon “Miami Vice” ’80s, then the ’90s, then the 2000s. Malls were alive; they were where everyone was. And the Sterling women — you could spot them in an instant by their swagger. They wore blazers and skirt sets from Casual Corner (“like a bunch of Ally McBeals,” one former saleswoman told me), their hair done up in French twists, their nails manicured, everything perfection, not like the side-ponied kids at the Gap in their shlumpy sweaters or the acid-washed stoners running the Orange Julius. They were the public face of what was becoming the biggest jewelry company in the world. What is sexier than that?
Most of their customers were men; men are the ones who buy most jewelry, and so the female managers weren’t surprised when they were explicitly told whom to hire. “You hired women,” said Michelle, who became a district manager during her more than 20 years at the company and who, like many of the women I spoke with, preferred to be mentioned by only her first name. “Good-looking women, because men were the customers.”	Most of their customers were men; men are the ones who buy most jewelry, and so the female managers weren’t surprised when they were explicitly told whom to hire. “You hired women,” said Michelle, who became a district manager during her more than 20 years at the company and who, like many of the women I spoke with, preferred to be mentioned by only her first name. “Good-looking women, because men were the customers.”
The saleswomen watched the men seep into their stores on Monday mornings after they saw a Kay Jewelers commercial aired during the Sunday football game that made their blood run cold: an unassuming woman being given an Ever Us necklace with an infinity symbol wrapped around two stones hanging suspended inside a heart, or a Love + Be Loved bracelet, which showed two linked loops that call to mind a trapeze artist grabbing another trapeze artist in midair. Or a young girl receiving an Open Hearts by Jane Seymour collection necklace, which looks like the Sanskrit yoga symbol and a snake that are either fighting or kissing each other, so that her mother’s new fiancé could let her know that he cared about her, too. The men would run to the mall reminded that there was always an anniversary coming up; they had always screwed something up and needed to apologize; Valentine’s Day comes every freaking year.	The saleswomen watched the men seep into their stores on Monday mornings after they saw a Kay Jewelers commercial aired during the Sunday football game that made their blood run cold: an unassuming woman being given an Ever Us necklace with an infinity symbol wrapped around two stones hanging suspended inside a heart, or a Love + Be Loved bracelet, which showed two linked loops that call to mind a trapeze artist grabbing another trapeze artist in midair. Or a young girl receiving an Open Hearts by Jane Seymour collection necklace, which looks like the Sanskrit yoga symbol and a snake that are either fighting or kissing each other, so that her mother’s new fiancé could let her know that he cared about her, too. The men would run to the mall reminded that there was always an anniversary coming up; they had always screwed something up and needed to apologize; Valentine’s Day comes every freaking year.
Once the men were in there, they couldn’t have escaped if they tried. Sterling had trained its staff obsessively. The salespeople were given gemology and diamontology courses. They knew the chemical components of platinum versus white gold versus yellow gold versus now all of a sudden rose gold. All this training made the saleswomen into retail assassins. They knew those guys were looking for a woman’s soft hand to hold theirs through the process. They would stand above the display cases and swivel their pretty wrists like a magician’s assistant. And maybe one of those guys would start looking at the jewelry, but he’d realize that he had no clue about what a woman would like because he was just a dumb man, and so he would ask the woman what he should buy, maybe that solitaire? “Sure,” the saleswoman would say, “that’s nice.” But why would you buy a single-stone diamond when you could buy a three-stone diamond? “When one diamond is not enough,” goes the sales copy, “use three to tell your story.” “Uh, what’s my story?” the guy would ask. “You and me and us is three,” she would say. “Or heart and soul and time. Or today and tomorrow and always.” It’s a story, she would explain. The guy would nod. Yes. Now he had a thing to give and a thing to say. Done.	Once the men were in there, they couldn’t have escaped if they tried. Sterling had trained its staff obsessively. The salespeople were given gemology and diamontology courses. They knew the chemical components of platinum versus white gold versus yellow gold versus now all of a sudden rose gold. All this training made the saleswomen into retail assassins. They knew those guys were looking for a woman’s soft hand to hold theirs through the process. They would stand above the display cases and swivel their pretty wrists like a magician’s assistant. And maybe one of those guys would start looking at the jewelry, but he’d realize that he had no clue about what a woman would like because he was just a dumb man, and so he would ask the woman what he should buy, maybe that solitaire? “Sure,” the saleswoman would say, “that’s nice.” But why would you buy a single-stone diamond when you could buy a three-stone diamond? “When one diamond is not enough,” goes the sales copy, “use three to tell your story.” “Uh, what’s my story?” the guy would ask. “You and me and us is three,” she would say. “Or heart and soul and time. Or today and tomorrow and always.” It’s a story, she would explain. The guy would nod. Yes. Now he had a thing to give and a thing to say. Done.
But Sterling wasn’t just about jewelry. It was also about selling credit cards and payment-protection plans and extended warranties. Many of the women told me that stores had quotas for that, and sometimes, when things got desperate, saleswomen were sent to the food court to flirt with men and get them to come apply for a credit card. “If you could fog up a mirror,” one woman told me the saying went, “you could get a credit line.” Salespeople were sometimes instructed by managers to charge customers without their consent for payment-protection plans to meet their store quotas. If the customer got home and saw the charge on the receipt, he could call customer service and get it refunded, but it could still count toward the store goal, so win-win. Occasionally they could persuade the customers to run their Social Security numbers for applications, because even if they didn’t qualify, just running the numbers would allow the store to hit its targets. That was not the fun part, but what were you going to do? It was all in the name of showing how valuable they were in their jobs, how they were willing to do what needed to be done. (Sterling says it retired its payment-protection plans in 2017.)	But Sterling wasn’t just about jewelry. It was also about selling credit cards and payment-protection plans and extended warranties. Many of the women told me that stores had quotas for that, and sometimes, when things got desperate, saleswomen were sent to the food court to flirt with men and get them to come apply for a credit card. “If you could fog up a mirror,” one woman told me the saying went, “you could get a credit line.” Salespeople were sometimes instructed by managers to charge customers without their consent for payment-protection plans to meet their store quotas. If the customer got home and saw the charge on the receipt, he could call customer service and get it refunded, but it could still count toward the store goal, so win-win. Occasionally they could persuade the customers to run their Social Security numbers for applications, because even if they didn’t qualify, just running the numbers would allow the store to hit its targets. That was not the fun part, but what were you going to do? It was all in the name of showing how valuable they were in their jobs, how they were willing to do what needed to be done. (Sterling says it retired its payment-protection plans in 2017.)
So many of them loved this job. Every day there would be something to feed their hearts. They understood that this was about relationships. They kept in touch with their customers; they remembered when it was an anniversary or time for a daughter to graduate from college. They’d watch the important moments between couples who walked in, the ones that either imitated the “Every Kiss Begins With Kay” commercials or inspired them. A tiny diamond just as a soldier boyfriend (now fiancé) was being deployed; a lab-made-emerald promise ring that fit into a young man’s budget; an upgrade for an anniversary now that he could afford a larger stone. It was beautiful to see: I remembered our anniversary. I am compelled to adorn you I love you so much. I am getting down on my knee. They watched as the truth of a woman’s life overcame them — that she knew in that moment she was loved, she was adored and she would have a relic of her adoration forever. How could you not want to be part of that?	So many of them loved this job. Every day there would be something to feed their hearts. They understood that this was about relationships. They kept in touch with their customers; they remembered when it was an anniversary or time for a daughter to graduate from college. They’d watch the important moments between couples who walked in, the ones that either imitated the “Every Kiss Begins With Kay” commercials or inspired them. A tiny diamond just as a soldier boyfriend (now fiancé) was being deployed; a lab-made-emerald promise ring that fit into a young man’s budget; an upgrade for an anniversary now that he could afford a larger stone. It was beautiful to see: I remembered our anniversary. I am compelled to adorn you I love you so much. I am getting down on my knee. They watched as the truth of a woman’s life overcame them — that she knew in that moment she was loved, she was adored and she would have a relic of her adoration forever. How could you not want to be part of that?
The saleswomen were rewarded for their talent and their hard work. Dawn, who helped initiate the suit, had received a $10,000 sales award before she was transferred over to Jared. Michelle, from Cleveland, remembered the first time she received a bonus. She was 22, and she was given more than $10,000 — more money than she ever thought she’d make in a year with no college degree. She remembers cashing the check and lining up all the bills at home and taking a picture.	The saleswomen were rewarded for their talent and their hard work. Dawn, who helped initiate the suit, had received a $10,000 sales award before she was transferred over to Jared. Michelle, from Cleveland, remembered the first time she received a bonus. She was 22, and she was given more than $10,000 — more money than she ever thought she’d make in a year with no college degree. She remembers cashing the check and lining up all the bills at home and taking a picture.
And there were incentive trips: Sterling would send you on a vacation to Hawaii or the Caribbean if you exceeded your sales goals. I heard about an incentive trip on a cruise ship that the company had rechristened the Sterling Diamond. (I also heard that the ship ran out of alcohol — something I had never heard of happening on a cruise — so that the vessel had to drop anchor and have a helicopter deliver more midsea.)	And there were incentive trips: Sterling would send you on a vacation to Hawaii or the Caribbean if you exceeded your sales goals. I heard about an incentive trip on a cruise ship that the company had rechristened the Sterling Diamond. (I also heard that the ship ran out of alcohol — something I had never heard of happening on a cruise — so that the vessel had to drop anchor and have a helicopter deliver more midsea.)
So maybe they had to put up with a few things that weren’t always so great. The way the men talked to them; the way the men talked about them with one another, right in front of them. A woman named Rebecca remembered doing inventory one night in her New Hartford, N.Y., store with a male sales colleague, and as the women in the mall would walk by, he’d rate each one as a “butter” or a “bagger” — a butter is someone who is pleasing to the young gentleman in body but (but ’er) not in face; a bagger is someone he would deign to have sex with only if she put a bag on her head. Heather Ballou, in Florida, remembered that her colleague would try to win a sale by calling over to her: “Heather, can I borrow your ears?” That was Heather’s indication to walk over in her deep V-neck top and lean across the display case to the man, while trying on some lab-made amethyst solitaire earrings and touching his arm lightly and marveling aloud how beautiful she felt with these on and how treasured they made her feel. Jeanene Glaude, in California, had to hear a drunken executive say to her, “You ran into me with your boobs!”	So maybe they had to put up with a few things that weren’t always so great. The way the men talked to them; the way the men talked about them with one another, right in front of them. A woman named Rebecca remembered doing inventory one night in her New Hartford, N.Y., store with a male sales colleague, and as the women in the mall would walk by, he’d rate each one as a “butter” or a “bagger” — a butter is someone who is pleasing to the young gentleman in body but (but ’er) not in face; a bagger is someone he would deign to have sex with only if she put a bag on her head. Heather Ballou, in Florida, remembered that her colleague would try to win a sale by calling over to her: “Heather, can I borrow your ears?” That was Heather’s indication to walk over in her deep V-neck top and lean across the display case to the man, while trying on some lab-made amethyst solitaire earrings and touching his arm lightly and marveling aloud how beautiful she felt with these on and how treasured they made her feel. Jeanene Glaude, in California, had to hear a drunken executive say to her, “You ran into me with your boobs!”
There was more. There was a lot more. But mostly it was a good job. Or at least the women didn’t know of a better one — one that allowed them to be part of a diamond moment, or handle beautiful objects, or learn so much about something, or succeed in a goal-driven environment.	There was more. There was a lot more. But mostly it was a good job. Or at least the women didn’t know of a better one — one that allowed them to be part of a diamond moment, or handle beautiful objects, or learn so much about something, or succeed in a goal-driven environment.