A jury awarded $875,000 to Tammy S. Blakey, the first woman at Continental Airlines to attain the rank of captain of an Airbus A300 passenger plane, for sexual harassment yesterday.
Blakey filed the suit in 1993, alleging that male pilots left pornographic pictures in cockpits, some with her name written on them. One picture left for her portrayed a naked woman being penetrated with a bloody sword. Despite Blakey’s repeated complaints and company instructions asking that the behavior stop, the pictures persisted. Hiding pornography all over the cockpit is apparently a tradition at Continental pilots, where only 12 of 5000 pilots are women.
The jury awarded Blakey $495,000 for lost pay and $380,000 for emotional distress, pain and suffering. Continental plans to appeal.
