A former Cushman & Wakefield executive who says the globalreal estate company used her as a face of workplace diversity suedthe company in Washington federal court on Tuesday for alleged raceand gender discrimination, claiming persistent roadblocks andunequal treatment. The complaint was filed by NicoleUrquhart-Bradley, the former head of valuation and advisory for theAmericas. Urquhart-Bradley, an African-American female executivewho had worked at Cushman for more than a decade, was terminated inJanuary.

Urquhart-Bradley's complaint, filed by the plaintiffs firm Sanford Heisler Sharp,alleged a culture of discrimination at the company, where women andminorities allegedly faced more roadblocks than white males. Thecomplaint said that despite above-average performance reviews,Urquhart-Bradley was terminated because of her race and gender.