Class action suit over gender bias at Goldman Sachs slated for 2023 trial
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Despite Goldman Sachs’ attempt to avoid a 12-year-old gender bias class action lawsuit, a federal judge said Monday the case will head to trial next June.
Lead plaintiff Cristina Chen-Oster complained about unfair treatment at Goldman Sachs to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2005 and sued the global investment bank and financial services company five years later, according to Bloomberg.
Chen-Oster and other plaintiffs alleged in the lawsuit that Goldman Sachs systematically paid its female employees less than male employees and denied them opportunities to move ahead in their careers.
Reuters, which also has coverage, reported that the lawsuit is one of the highest-profile cases to challenge Wall Street’s alleged discrimination of women in pay and promotion.
In her order, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York refused Goldman Sachs’ request to decertify the class of about 1,800 plaintiffs. Goldman Sachs had argued that there was no evidence that each person experienced a loss in pay.
However, Torres also held in her order that women who did not experience reduced compensation and women who did not participate in certain performance review processes could not be part of the class action suit.
“Goldman Sachs is proud of its long record of promoting and supporting women, and we look forward to vigorously defending ourself against these baseless claims,” said Goldman Sachs in a statement published by Reuters and Bloomberg.
Anne Shaver, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, also told media outlets that her clients look forward to the trial.
