New York (EFE).- Goldman Sachs, one of the largest US banks, signed a pre-judicial agreement to pay 215 million dollars (196 million euros) to the plaintiffs for a case of employment discrimination based on sex that was Drag since 2010.
The agreement, signed last night and made public jointly by the parties, thus prevents the trial scheduled for next month from being held and in which it was an attempt to demonstrate that the bank systematically hindered the promotion of its female professionals, in addition to paying them less than their male colleagues and disadvantage them in the evaluation process.
The demand
The complaint was filed by four executives, representing 2,800 women who work or have worked in three divisions of the financial giant: investment banking, investment management and the security division, who argued a policy of “collective gender discrimination.”
The agreement assumes that 71 million of the agreed amount will go to cover legal costs, while the rest will be distributed among the complainants, who will receive an average of 47,000 dollars each, according to the calculation of the New York Post.
But it also obliges the bank to undertake an external evaluation (by “independent experts”) of its policies for three years to ensure that the evaluation and promotion processes yield “accurate, reliable and unbiased results”, in addition to other studies on “pay equity” to avoid any kind of pay gap.
The agreement implies that some of the most systematically denounced actions occur in the highest segments of the ladder, since it specifies that “the promotion processes from vice president to managing director” must be specifically monitored.
One of the original whistleblowers, Allison Gamba, stated: “My goal in this case was always to support the strong women of Wall Street (the financial sector), and I am pleased that the result achieved advances gender equality.” .
Relieved to avoid a lawsuit that could have exposed all its practices with its own female staff, Goldman Sachs had a spokeswoman speak on its behalf, who said the bank “is proud of its long history of promoting and advancing women.” and remains committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace for all of our people.”