Goldman Sachs Group Inc has agreed to pay $215 million to settle a long-running class-action lawsuit alleging widespread discrimination against women in both pay and promotions, a joint statement from the company said. and the complainants.
The settlement covers about 2,800 female associates and vice presidents who work in investment banking, investment management and securities, according to a joint statement from the bank and plaintiffs late Monday.
The lawsuit is one of the most high-profile cases alleging unfair treatment of women on Wall Street. It dates back to 2010, when former Goldman executives Cristina Chen-Oster and Shanna Orlich filed a complaint alleging that Goldman denied them equal pay and promotions because of their gender.
“As one of the original plaintiffs, I am proud to have supported this lawsuit without hesitation for the past nearly thirteen years and believe this settlement will help the women I had in mind when it was filed. I am the case,” Orlich said in a statement.
The settlement provides “substantial, specific recoveries for all class members and advances gender equity at Goldman,” said Kelly Dermody, co-counsel for the plaintiffs.
Goldman Sachs will also hire independent experts to conduct additional analysis on performance evaluation and gender pay gaps as part of the settlement, according to the statement.
“After more than a decade of intense litigation, both parties have agreed to resolve this matter,” said Jacqueline Arthur, Goldman Sachs’ global head of human capital management. “We will continue to focus on our people, our clients, and our business.”
The bank has set targets in 2020 to recruit more diverse talent, aiming for 40% of female vice presidents by 2025, it said in a statement. Of Goldman’s current partners and managing directors, 29% are women.
Goldman’s gender issues were also brought up in a book, “Bully Market,” published by former managing director Jamie Fiore Higgins last year. In it, she recounted the sexism she encountered at the bank, including colleagues who teased her when she left to pump breast milk. She also alleged that a male employee assaulted her, pinning her neck against a wall.
Goldman Sachs did not offer a new response to Higgins’ account, but said last year that it strongly disagreed with his characterization of Goldman Sachs’ culture and his “anonymized” allegations.
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