Denver, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/25/2017 --The Harvey Weinstein scandal shows how men of power and corporations can leverage their power to abuse and take advantage of women in the entertainment industry. Whether it's the allegedly sexual predatory behavior of Mr. Weinstein or the sexism and racism experienced by Ms. Tanique Wright, Vice President of Human Resources for Professional Bull Riders (PBR), a WME Entertainment company. As an African-American female executive, Wright is one of the lowest paid VP's on the leadership team, was told by management she is not allowed to attend weekly leadership meetings and has been denied equal treatment and pay consistent with white male executives. She filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and they found merit in Wright's claims and issued her a right to sue WME and PBR. Wright spoke to A Just Cause about the alleged culture of abuse at WME Entertainment.

"I have worked hard to achieve my goals and dreams only to have them shattered because of my gender and race," says Wright. "I remember how excited I was as I walked towards the building to begin my first day with PBR. Unfortunately, my excitement for this dream job opportunity was short-lived because I soon found out that there was a culture of gender and racial bias at PBR. When I complained and provided evidence of my gender and race claims, like Harvey Weinstein, PBR and WME Entertainment management treated me like trash, arrogantly demeaned me and retaliated against me for standing and speaking against their abuse," laments Wright.

Marginalization, abuse and pay discrimination against women are ubiquitous throughout corporate America, the entertainment industry and sports. According to data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau, Women generally make 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. African-American and Hispanic women fair much worse, making just 63 and 54 cents respectively to their male counterparts.

"At PBR, I am a second-class employee because of my gender and race," says Wright. "I have saved the company hundreds of thousands of dollars and ended the 2016 fiscal year without depleting my budget. Still, I and my contributions to WME are not valued or respected by management. It both sickens and motivates me to speak out against a company that sends such a harmful message that women, especially African-American women, who achieve excellence for a company are still not good enough to merit fair treatment and equal pay," concludes Wright.

A Just Cause sent a letter to CEO of WME, Ari Emanuel, concerning WME's alleged "toxic" work environment, fostering a "Weinstein culture of humiliation and unfair treatment of women" and WME management's attempts to threaten and intimidate Ms. Wright for filing a complaint. A Just Cause will continue supporting her fight against gender and race discrimination at WME and other women facing similar plights through social media, press releases and AJC radio broadcasts.