Major beverage company sued over abusive culture, shock allegations

Culture of bias No Images? Click here       By Emily Peck Monsters Powerful men have powerful protectors. That's one lesson I took away in reporting this piece on Monster Energy. I spoke with five women who sued the drink maker, which is partly owned by Coca-Cola, for sexual discrimination and other gender-based grievances. Their stories are brutal. One executive at the company is facing criminal charges over strangling and biting his girlfriend. He is still employed by Monster. Another former employee was called a "bitch" and a "whore" and worse by her boss, after she tried to call off a sexual relationship with him. She was fired. He still has a job. There's a lot of hand-wringing right now about men's careers. As more women open up about harassment and assault, more commentators start freaking out over the consequences for men who may be falsely accused. This Monster story is powerful reminder that women's careers are often destroyed when they're sexual harassed and discriminated against at work. The women I spoke with were fired or forced out of the company for simply speaking up about the way they were treated. A few still can't find work, and those who are working are making less money.  It's not so easy to destroy a powerful man's career. How many times did Anthony Weiner get a shot at redemption? What about Eliot Spitzer? What's Bill Clinton up to these days? Woody Allen's been working under a swirl of incest accusations for years. Larry Nassar, who molested more than 100 little girls over decades, was accused by those girls for more than 15 years before anyone paid attention. It's harder to come up with the name of a woman who's gotten a shot at redemption or a second chance or two. In part, because there are fewer powerful women around.   I'm not arguing, of course, that any innocent person should have their career destroyed. I'm saying that it's hard to actually find an example of such a person -- yet easy to find cases where a well-known or wealthy man's career was deemed so important that he had a legion of defenders protecting him. Just look at the Oval Office.  There are plenty of people worrying about men's careers. Now is the time to think about women's livelihoods, too. READ MORE I'm Sorry! Last week I neglected to update the "read more" button with the story about Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics doctor, who was sentenced to life in prison today. Here's the correct link. And for an even more in-depth piece on that horror show, check out this ESPN story about how the child molester was enabled for more than a decade.  If you love getting these emails, please use this special link -- that belongs only to you -- to share with a friend!       Here's what else you need to know Larry Nassar had an army of protectors. They've yet to face justice. These women spent years cleaning up after senators who now want to deport them The best birthday cake recipes, from layer to sheet cakes (this is a truly mesmerizing article, I promise)     The reality of being a woman — by the numbers. Like what you see? Share it with a friend. Did someone forward this email? Subscribe here. Can't get enough? Check out The Good Life. ©2017 HuffPost | 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 You are receiving this email because you signed up for updates from HuffPost Feedback | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe   - - Preferences  |  Unsubscribe