General Electric Co.'s top lawyer in its transportation division filed a $500 million sex-bias lawsuit against the company...after she was demoted. [Plaintiff] Lorene F. Schaefer...said...[GE] pays its female executives and attorneys less than their male colleagues and doesn't promote them at the same rate. The lawsuit...seeks class-action status on behalf of 1,500 women... GE spokesman Gary Sheffer said...that the company "works very hard to promote and ensure diversity within our culture." "We have increased the number of women in senior executive positions in the past five years," Sheffer said. [also refers to lawsuits against Costco, Morgan Stanley, Wal-Mart, State Farm Insurance]