Perpetual chief came under fire over attitude to women

THE chief executive of the company being sued in a $1.2 million sexual harassment case has previously been criticised for his attitude to women in the male-dominated finance industry, with one senior businesswoman saying she was "lucky" that she had worked with men "who don't sound like David".

The remark was a reference to David Deverall, who heads Perpetual, the funds management firm that is being sued in the Federal Court by former senior employee Fiona Dunn.

Ms Dunn was earning $672,000 a year before she went on maternity leave last year. She claims to have been bullied and the subject of "blatant and unashamed discrimination".

In her claim to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Ms Dunn included a claim against Mr Deverall personally but her claim in the Federal Court is only against Perpetual.


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