EDITORS' CORNER
Gap reached ‘as high as 13.4 percent,’ lawsuit alleged
Vassar College has agreed to pay $5 million in a settlement with female professors at the school who allege that their male counterparts were compensated more for the same work.
The settlement, which still requires approval from the court, will go to 84 full professors, according to Equal Rights Advocates, a legal advocacy group that represented the women.
In addition, the school has agreed to make clear to professors how it decides pay, promotions, and performance evaluations.
The private liberal arts college in New York will also hire an independent consultant each year to audit professors’ pay for fairness, share the results with the Faculty Compensation Committee, and adjust pay if needed.
Catherine Bendor, director of litigation at Equal Rights Advocates said, “This step reflects years of efforts by women faculty members at Vassar, first privately and then in court, to get Vassar to eliminate a gender-based pay gap of which the college has long been aware.”
“Our clients worked hard to achieve justice not only for themselves and their colleagues, but for all future women professors. We hope the terms of the proposed settlement, and the experience of this lawsuit, will result in Vassar appropriately recognizing the contributions of all of its women faculty,” she said.
Board of Trustees Chair Sharon Davidson Chang issued a statement affirming the college’s “unwavering commitment to pay equity” Friday.
“Our rigorous, ongoing review of faculty evaluation and compensation practices has reinforced that commitment, strengthened our processes, and will continue to advance fairness, transparency, and institutional excellence at Vassar in the years ahead,” Change wrote.
The lawsuit was filed in August 2023 by five current and former female professors. They received support from several male professors, women and men junior faculty, and many students and alumni.
“The suit alleged that Vassar had known for years of a gender pay gap among its full professors and had not adequately addressed it, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Equal Pay Law, and the New York State Human Rights Law,” according to Equal Rights Advocates.
The lawsuit also states that the pay gap has widened over time.
“…the disparity was 7.6 percent (its smallest) in the 2003-2004 academic year; grew to as high as 13.4 percent in the 2010-2011 academic year; and remained at 10.0 percent in the 2021-2022 academic year,” it states.
Further, in response to concerns raised since 2008, the school has decreased transparency around compensation, according to the lawsuit.
Now, pending approval from the court, those female professors will receive compensation.
