'Who could have imagined that the federal agency for workplace equality would one day accuse Coca-Cola of anti-male segregation?'

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n July 1964, after decades of struggle led by the civil rights movement, the United States Congress passed the landmark Civil Rights Act. A key section targeted the workplace, prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin and gender, thanks to a surprise amendment by a Democratic representative. Who, back then, could have imagined that the very federal agency created to uphold these rights would one day accuse a company of anti-male segregation?

The seal of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at its headquarters in Washington, February 18, 2020. BLOOMBERG / BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES

In September 2024, Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, a bottler and distributor for the iconic soda, organized a networking event at a casino attended by some 250 women in Connecticut. Afterward, one of their male colleagues filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), arguing that men had been excluded from the two-day event. The federal agency sided with him. On Wednesday, February 18, the commission announced it was launching legal proceedings in a New Hampshire court on behalf of the complainant, suing the subcontractor of The Coca-Cola Company for "violating" federal law. The agency declared it was "committed to ensuring that all employees – men and women alike – enjoy equal access to all aspects of their employment, including participation in employer-sponsored events."