If it's only one plaintiff it can't be a class action. Though maybe they want to make it a class action by convincing other women to get on board.
I don't think this case has much chance of success without some hard documentary evidence reaching to the highest levels, and without several women coming forward from numerous divisions within MS. There is zero chance of MS's HR and performance appraisal policies having explicit wording that is gender discriminatory. And if you are alleging systematic discrimination it's not enough to prove that a specific manager is a sexist dick and is blocking a woman's legitimate claim for advancement (or more pay) on the basis of her woman-ness.
Basically they will have to prove a secret squirrel conspiracy going on behind closed doors. And those are very hard to prove to the satisfaction of a court even when they do exist.
I make no judgement on the legitimacy or otherwise of the claim, and I don't think anyone here can, as we do not have anything close to all the necessary facts of the case to be able to come to a decent conclusion.
“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."
Jimi Hendrix
