Former Employees Accuse Amazon of Gender Pay Discrimination
Two former employees of Amazon have come forward with claims that the company paid female workers less than their male counterparts, echoing issues raised in a similar lawsuit from 2023.
Gayatri Srinivas and Amy Cisneroz filed a proposed class-action complaint on April 8 in Seattle’s federal court, asserting that the company’s pay structure is discriminatory. They argue that Amazon often classifies jobs held by women as “non-tech,” which leads to lower pay.
Srinivas and Cisneroz believe they were significantly underpaid compared to male colleagues who had the same job titles, experience, and responsibilities. Amazon places its corporate employees into a job-classification system that ranges from levels 4 to 12.
Srinivas, who worked at Amazon from 2011 until 2025, progressed from an L5 technical writer to an L6 senior technical writer. Cisneroz, who was with the company from 2022 to 2024, held the position of L7 principal product manager in Amazon’s fashion division.
Cisneroz claims she was told her lower pay was due to her job being categorized as “non-tech.” She discovered through discussions that “tech” positions received greater compensation, irrespective of having the same job title. Even when she took over projects from a male colleague on leave—who had similar qualifications—she was still classified in a lower-paying category.
While the lawsuit notes that Cisneroz was let go in October 2024, it does not provide specific reasons given by Amazon for her termination.
Srinivas, on the other hand, became aware of pay differences during her 14 years at the company after speaking to a male colleague about their salaries. This led her to believe her pay was below the industry standard. A manager later confirmed that her salary was indeed lower than expected for her level and experience. Despite a pay increase, she found her earnings never reached the upper limits of the salary range for her role.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers are asking the court to recognize this as a class action to seek compensation for all employees who share similar experiences at Amazon.
This new complaint closely resembles a class-action lawsuit filed in 2023 by three women from Amazon’s Worldwide Communications team, who also voiced concerns about pay inequality and claimed they faced retaliation after raising these issues.
In response to the 2023 allegations, Amazon maintained that the claims were unfounded and emphasized its commitment to preventing discrimination.
One of the women from the earlier suit claimed her job classification was incorrectly assigned, resulting in lower pay. While she was classified as an L7, a male colleague in the same team was labeled as an L8 and earned significantly more.
In 2024, a federal judge refused to dismiss the earlier lawsuit, stating that Amazon’s dismissal attempt was premature. Amazon has yet to respond to the latest lawsuit in court.
