SAN FRANCISCO -- The 10 highest-ranking female executives at BankAmerica Corp. have resigned or have been demoted since the company merged with NationsBank Corp. in October, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Six of the 10 resigned after their assignments were given to NationsBank executives, and four took jobs with less authority for the new bank, the newspaper said Wednesday, citing interviews with current and former employees.The women spoke to the newspaper on the condition that they not be identified. Some said the terms of their severance packages prevented them speaking publicly.
Several female employees told the newspaper they were insulted when NationsBank Chairman and Chief Executive Hugh McColl distributed a videotape to employees in which he boasted of having "the best men in banking."
The new BankAmerica, based in North Carolina, said the women were not pressured to leave.
"Each of the women made a decision based on a combination of personal and professional factors," said Lorraine Stimmel, executive vice president responsible for diversity programs at the merged bank, herself a manager at the old BofA. "Many of the female executives were offered what I would consider important positions in the new company."
Other BofA employees pointed out that many men also lost jobs to NationsBank executives.