Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $215m to former female employees who accused the company of gender discrimination.
According to the Financial Times, the claimants said they were constantly underpaid and undervalued by their male colleagues.
NN Investment Partners rebrands following acquisition
Goldman Sachs and the ex-employees agreed to the settlement, meaning there will no longer be a trial, which had been scheduled for June 2023 in a New York federal court, Bloomberg reported.
The $215m will be divided among around 2,800 associates and vice-presidents who took part in the class action against Goldman Sachs, mostly within the investment banking and securities divisions.
A third of the proceeds, however, will be taken in fees by the claimants' lawyers.
As part of the settlement, the investment banking giant also agreed to hire an independent expert to evaluate its performance and pay equity.
Goldman Sachs has been contacted for comment.
Goldman Sachs AM global fixed income CIO to retire after 26 years
The lawsuit first started in 2010 by original claimants Cristina Chen-Oster and Shanna Orlich, who won the right to lead a class action lawsuit against the investment bank over sex discrimination in 2018.
They accused Goldman Sachs of having company-wide policies and practices which led to better pay and promotion prospects for male employees.
The settlement will now need to be approved by the New York court overseeing the case and, if so, a third-party administrator will be appointed to oversee the allocation of the settlement amount.
