A federal appeals court on Tuesday allowed a 13-year-old class action gender discrimination lawsuit against Goldman Sachs to proceed.
The suit was filed by four female former bankers and alleged that Goldman is a boys’ club, ” where women are sexualized, compensated less and given less-prestigious positions.
The women had won class action status last March and, in the latest courtroom skirmish, Goldman tried to reverse the class action ruling.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court called the Goldman effort unwarranted. ”
The ruling clears the way for about 2,000 women to join the suit against the investment bank.
We are happy, ” Kelly Dermody, a lawyer for the women, told Bloomberg. We look forward to the next stage of the case. ”
This constellation of evidence reflects widespread concerns among women about gender bias and a “boys club’ atmosphere; the sexualization of women and an uncorrected culture of sexual harassment and assault, ” according to the complaint.
The suit also claims that female vice presidents earned 21 percent less than their male counterparts, while female associates earned 8 percent less.
Goldman Sachs, in fighting the suit, produced an expert witness in 2014 who claimed that the differences in salaries between men and women were statistically insignificant.
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