Some Bloomberg managers perceived the use of medical or maternity leave as stealing from the company, several of the former employees said. One, Andreea Orent, said she was chastised for being a few minutes late to work and had been called out in a performance review for once clocking in 20 minutes late. Ms. Orent is suing the company for discrimination.

Ms. Harland, the Bloomberg spokeswoman, said the company didn’t fire Ms. Orent, even though she “was frequently late for — or would miss altogether — important meetings.”

Men at the company rated the “hotness” of their female colleagues, according to an interview with a former employee and lawsuits against the company in 2016 and 2018. Employees said in lawsuits that women were encouraged to wear short skirts and high heels.

Ms. Harland said the company had not found evidence of men rating women based on attractiveness and that there is no dress code at Bloomberg. She said that when the company discovered one instance in which men at the company “started a chat that included inappropriate comments” about women, Bloomberg fired the employees involved.

Mr. Bloomberg has a history of making derogatory comments toward women, including at his company. At a business meeting in 1999, he said that if he let women who had children have flexible work arrangements, he would have to give men time off to work on their golf games, according to an employee who heard the remark and is now bound by a confidentiality agreement.

“If women wanted to be appreciated for their brains, they’d go to the library instead of to Bloomingdale’s,” Mr. Bloomberg was quoted as saying in a booklet compiled by his former chief marketing officer.

Ms. Harland said Mr. Bloomberg “openly admits that his words have not always aligned with his values and the way he has led his life, and some of what he has said is disrespectful and wrong.”