A group of male photographers and videographers have filed a class action suit against Sony, claiming the electronics company discriminated against them by restricting their ability to claim grant money awarded through the company's Alpha Female Creator program.
The named plaintiffs include Bert Riddick, Harry Crouch, Bill Greenblatt, Carlos Cespedes, Mark Teng, Mogli Maureal, Seth Golden, Thomas Fang, Tremaine Lewis, David Christopher Lee and Kyle Ferguson among others.
The lawsuit was initially filed in San Diego County Superior Court on Feb. 5, but was removed to federal court in San Diego on Feb. 22.
The defendants named in the lawsuit include Sony Electronics Inc., Michaela Ion, Matthew Parnell and NSO Inc., doing business as Harte Hanks Direct Marketing.
The complaint alleges Sony rolled out and promoted the Alpha Female Creator program to "pander" to women and boost their product sales to female photographers and videographers. However, the complaint asserts the program is not allowed under anti-discrimination law, because it restricts entry entirely to "people who identify as female," excluding all others, particularly men.
According to the complaint, Sony has recently claimed the goal of the program is to "propagate Sony's diverse and inclusive work culture into the market for the products it sells."
However, the complaint says that insistence comes despite the principle that "excluding persons who do not identify as female from Sony's Alpha Female contests and programs is the exact opposite of diverse and inclusive."
"... Despite reasonably clear evidence that the majority of professional photographers in the United States are female, Sony sought to gain a larger share of the female market of purchasers of its goods and services by fabricating a false sense of victimhood and systemic unfairness among women photographers, and then Sony offered its Alpha Female contests and programs as a 'solution' to the 'problem,'" the plaintiffs wrote in the complaint.
According to the complaint, the Alpha Female programs have been worth up to $55,800 in awards and grants to selected entrants, including participation in a "Female Creator in Residence Program."
The plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief and statutory damages, plus attorney fees.
They are represented by attorneys Daniel J. Williams, of San Diego, and Greg Adler, of Newark.