October 18, 2023

Vassar College Faces Lawsuit Alleging Decades-Long Gender Pay Gap

Vassar College, one of the Seven Sisters, has long been seen as a beacon of forward-thinking policies when it came to gender. But this rosy view of the college is now being contested by a lawsuit brought by former and current professors, who allege the college has systematically paid its male professors more for decades.

 

The suit, which is being brought by five tenured professors claims that not only did Vassar continuously pay male counterparts more, the college also delayed promotions and engaged in the use of a performance rating system that discriminated against female professors.

 

In salary data published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the ‘03-‘04 academic year saw women paid, on average, $7,770 less than male counterparts.The gap has only widened since then, to nearly $14,000 in the ‘21-‘22 academic year, a similar pay gap in higher education at large.

 

The suit has outraged many on campus, who believed that such a disparity could not happen at such a progressive institution. In responding to the suit and the subsequent student anger, the college’s president acknowledged an ongoing dispute between faculty and the college over salary raises which are governed by a faculty-led peer review process. She said that she respected the professors’ choice to take this dispute to the courts and that the institution had agreed to hiring an outside compensation analysis organization to review salaries. The plaintiffs’ complaint is available here.

Annual Law360 Survey Shows Gender Gap in the Legal Profession Remains Wide

October 21, 2020
Gender Discrimination
Increased awareness and focus on gender disparity at law firms has done little over the last year to make gains within the profession, especially at its highest levels, reports Law360 in its annual glass ceiling survey.

FFCRA Complaints for the Week of October 9: Child Care Leave Remains a Hot Button Issue

October 21, 2020
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As experts suspected, the fall and colder weather has meant more people indoors, which has led to significant new outbreaks, especially across the US and Europe. Employers have not been as forgiving with parents who are requesting or taking leave granted to them under the FFCRA to deal with child care needs.

Princeton to Settle in Gender Pay Inequity Case

October 13, 2020
Gender Discrimination
Officials at Princeton University have agreed to settle a case regarding pay inequities for 106 full current and former female professors as part of the conclusion of a nearly decade long federal investigation into pay disparities at the university.

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