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Woman succeeds in claims of sex discrimination

3 February 2010

A woman has successfully claimed she was the victim of sex discrimination by the navy.

Chief petty officer Jacqueline Cartner, who serves at HMS Collingwood in Fareham and has been awarded an MBE, alleged she was passed over for promotion to the position of warrant officer because she is a woman, the Portsmouth News reports.

An employment tribunal ruled this was the case, saying the selection board could not prove it was adopting a fair procedure.

It found that the selection technique was "frankly primitive".

Responding to her victory, Ms Cartner remarked: "This has been a very long and painful road, for both me and my family and I am sad that it has had to come this far."

However, she went on to state that she is glad the tribunal ruling vindicated her claims.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the navy said that after consultations with the Ministry of Defence - which operates with a budget in excess of £32 billion - it intends to appeal.