Goldman Sachs, a global investment bank, has agreed to pay 2,800 billion won in compensation to more than 2,800 victims in a class action lawsuit alleging that they discriminated against female employees in terms of wages.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 9th (local time) that “Goldman Sachs agreed the night before to pay 215 million dollars (about 280 billion won) to former and current female employees to finalize a class action lawsuit filed by them. ” reported.
The subject of settlement in the lawsuit is a total of 2,800 female employees who have worked in Goldman Sachs’ investment banking, investment management, and securities divisions since the early 2000s.
Shani Orich, a former Goldman Sachs employee who first filed the lawsuit, said in relation to the lawsuit, “I believe this settlement will help the women I was thinking about at the time of the lawsuit.” Goldman Sachs said: “After more than 10 years of intense litigation, the parties have agreed to settle the matter.”
The lawsuit began in 2010 when two former Goldman Sachs executives, Christina Chen Oster and Shana Olic, filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court in New York. The indictment filed by them contained a claim to the effect that “the company intentionally paid male employees higher salaries than female employees and provided them with more opportunities for promotion.”
Later, in 2014, as other female executives filed similar lawsuits, the controversy over discrimination against women at Goldman Sachs grew. In particular, they argued, “Goldman Sachs has an atmosphere that promotes a male-dominant ‘boys club’ culture,” and that the difference in salary between male and female employees is 21% for executive directors and 8% for general managers.
In addition, in August of last year, Jamie Peuri Higgins, who worked at Goldman Sachs for nearly 20 years and rose to executive director, published a memoir, ‘Bully Market’, which exposed the company’s culture of gender discrimination, drawing attention.
Goldman Sachs reached the settlement before a formal trial begins in the Southern District of New York in June. Goldman Sachs has promised to hire independent external experts to evaluate employee performance and investigate the gender pay gap. He also said that by 2025, at least 40% of middle managers would be filled by women.
Separately from this lawsuit, Bloomberg News said, “Goldman Sachs has reached an agreement to pay 12 million dollars (about 16 billion won) to a ‘partner (senior position)’ who is leaving the company on the condition of keeping secrets about misogynistic remarks by senior executives in the past. However, Goldman Sachs denied the report.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.