Vassar College class action claims school underpays female professors

Vassar College class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Five female Vassar College professors have filed a class action lawsuit against the liberal arts college.
• Why: Vassar College allegedly discriminates against female professors by paying them less than their male counterparts.
• Where: The Vassar College professors filed the class action lawsuit in New York federal court.

Five female Vassar College professors allege they were underpaid when they worked as full professors for the Poughkeepsie, New York, college, according to a recent class action lawsuit.

Plaintiffs Wendy Graham, Maria Höhn, Mia Mask, Cindy Schwarz and Debra Zeifman are current or former Vassar College professors. Even though they were employed as full professors who perform comparable work to male Vassar College professors, they say they were paid less than their male counterparts.

“Vassar systematically underpays, underpromotes, and unfairly evaluates its female full professors” 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, the Vassar College class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiffs say pay disparity grows ‘exponentially’ throughout female professors’ careers

The plaintiffs allege that Vassar College offers males higher starting salaries than women, and this pay disparity affects women throughout their careers. They explain that pay increases consist of a percentage of their salaries, causing this initial pay disparity to grow “exponentially” over the course of their careers.

The Vassar College class action lawsuit points to data shared with The Chronicle of Higher Education which shows that the gender pay gap has actually increased over time. The largest pay gap was reported in 2019-2020 when male professors out-earned female professors by $19,788, which amounts to a 14.6% disparity.

Vassar has long known about the wage gap but failed to correct it, the plaintiffs allege. They claim that Vassar’s conduct constitutes illegal discrimination under New York law.

The Walt Disney Co. was recently hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the company pays female middle managers less than their male counterparts.

What do you think about the allegations that female Vassar College professors are paid less than their male counterparts? Join the discussion in the comments.

The Vassar College professors are represented by Rachel J. Geman, Kelly M. Dermody, Anne B. Shaver and Michelle A. Lamy of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP and Jessica R. Stender of Equal Rights Advocates.

The Vassar College class action lawsuit is Wendy Graham, et al. v. Vassar College, Case No. 7:23-cv-07692, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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