Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) has agreed to pay $215 million to settle a long-running class-action lawsuit that accused the investment bank of widespread bias against women in both pay and promotions, Bloomberg News reported on Monday citing a person familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, Reuters reported that the talks were ongoing to settle roughly a month before the trial was set to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The plaintiffs alleged the bank systematically paid women less than men and gave women weaker performance reviews that impeded their career growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are led by Cristina Chen-Oster, Mary De Luis and Allison Gamba, who were Goldman vice presidents, and Shanna Orlich, who was an associate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goldman, which has previously denied wrongdoing, declined to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawyers for the plaintiffs at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Goldman’s lawyer Sullivan & Cromwell LLP was not immediately available to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lawsuit is among the highest-profile cases targeting Wall Street’s alleged unequal treatment of women, including in litigation against many banks that stretches back decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n