The lawsuit comes as Cohen prepares to relaunch his firm as a hedge fund to enable it to manage outside investors' cash after he was banned from the securities sector for two years.

A female executive at Steven Cohen’s investment house has reportedly filed a lawsuit claiming the company is a testosterone-fuelled “boys’ club” where women have their bodies commented on, are belittled and paid less than men.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court by a current employee of Point72 Asset Management, depicts a toxic work environment for women, the New York Times reports. Women with years of experience were often referred to as “girls” or “sweethearts”, and some were excluded from meetings deemed for men only, the lawsuit said. 

The case offers a look through the keyhole into the $11 billion firm, headed by one of Wall Street’s most seasoned traders. Cohen, who is trying to repair his tarnished public image and raise cash from investors, is not personally accused of inappropriate behaviour in the lawsuit. 

In a statement on Monday, Point72 reportedly said: “The firm emphatically denies these allegations and will defend itself in a more appropriate venue than the media. We stand by our record of hiring and developing women. In an industry where women are historically underrepresented, the hundreds of women at Point72 are vital members of every part of our organization.”

Cohen’s previous firm, SAC Capital Advisors, shut down in 2014 after it pleaded guilty to insider trading. Wall Street’s main watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), slapped Cohen with a two-year ban from the securities industry. He was not formally charged, however. 

To manage his personal fortune, he created Point72, which has more than 1,000 staff.

Since his ban expired at the end of last year, Cohen has been preparing to relaunch Point72 as a hedge fund to enable it to manage outside investors’ money. 

At Point72, women make up fewer than 3 per cent of the managing directors, according to the lawsuit, which was brought on behalf of Lauren Bonner, an associate director. Of the firm’s 125 portfolio managers, one is a woman. There are no women on the firm’s hiring or executive committee.

For several weeks last year, a whiteboard in the office of a top executive had the word “pussy” written on it, leaving the firm’s few senior women feeling uneasy, according to the lawsuit. A person who worked at the firm confirmed the incident.

Family Wealth Report has reached out to Point72 for comment and will update coverage accordingly. This publication interviewed the business in August 2016 about how it was working to tackle compliance issues.