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The former chief financial officer of the Real Brokerage has filed a lawsuit against the company, saying she was sidelined and eventually ousted when she became a mother.
Michelle Ressler
Michelle Ressler and her attorneys filed the suit Tuesday. Ressler took up the role of CFO at the Real Brokerage in 2020 but was dismissed in April and replaced with Ravi Jani. At the time, the company said Ressler was terminated due to actions believed to violate Real policies. An investigation was ongoing at the time of Ressler’s firing.
However, in her complaint, Ressler paints a different picture of what happened. Among other things, the complaint states that Real “cast aspersions on Ms. Ressler’s unblemished track record by firing her just three months after she returned from maternity leave,” and that the CFO role was then handed over to Ressler’s “less qualified male subordinate.”
In an email to Inman, Real said that it does not comment on pending litigation.
The complaint also claims that Real CEO Tamir Poleg “less than subtly suggested that Ms. Ressler could not be both an effective and dedicated CFO and a mother.”
Ressler goes on to say in the complaint that she first disclosed her pregnancy in January 2024, after which the company engaged in an effort to sideline her, with the goal of giving the position to “an unencumbered man.”
The complaint also raises questions about Real’s business strategies. It states, for instance, that Ressler began her maternity leave on Aug. 15, 2024, at which time she was “seriously concerned about the company’s future, including compliance and legal exposure stemming from CEO Poleg’s decisions to prematurely launch products that, put simply, did not work.”
During her maternity leave, Ressler goes on to say, she was called on to engage in a variety of work-related tasks, and when she returned, her role had been diminished. She was eventually “blindsided” by termination. According to the complaint, Ressler was told her firing stemmed from “gross misconduct” related to $17,440.60 worth of personal charges on a company credit card. The complaint, however, states that the charges — for airfare and entertainment — were “related to networking in her capacity as CFO.”
Ultimately, at the time of her firing, the complaint alleges, Poleg “threatened Ms. Ressler, stating that a criminal investigation of her ‘theft’ of Company funds was coming.”
The complaint ultimately refers to Real’s claims as “absurd.”
In a statement, Allison Van Kampen — an attorney representing Ressler — said the “case involves textbook claims for gender discrimination, pregnancy discrimination and retaliation.”
“It’s infuriating that, in 2025,” Van Kampen continued, “men in leadership still seem to believe that women cannot be effective executives if they have a baby at home.”
Ressler herself said in the statement that the lawsuit “is about truth.
“As CFO, I consistently led with a commitment to sound governance, transparency, and performance — grounded in quiet, strategic leadership,” she said. “In an industry where women comprise a majority of the workforce but too few of the decision-makers, we need more leaders willing to challenge outdated, discriminatory norms and lead with integrity. I’m coming forward not just to right Real’s wrongs against me and hold it accountable, but also to demonstrate what resilience looks like when it’s rooted in principle, precision, and results.”
The suit ultimately asks for backpay and a variety of damages, as well as a jury trial.
Read Ressler’s complaint here:
