Walt Disney has agreed to pay $43.3 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of gender-based pay disparity, with female employees allegedly earning $150 million less than male counterparts over eight years.
As part of the settlement, Disney will hire a labor economist for three years to analyze and address pay equity among non-union California employees below the vice president level, according to Reuters.
The lawsuit, filed by LaRonda Rasmussen in 2019, stemmed from her discovery that six male colleagues in the same role earned significantly more, including one with less experience earning $20,000 more than her.
Over time, around 9,000 current and former female employees joined the suit.
Although Disney sought to block the class action, a judge ruled in December that it could proceed.
“I strongly commend Ms Rasmussen and the women who brought this discrimination suit against Disney, one of the largest entertainment companies in the world. They risked their careers to raise pay disparity at Disney,” Lori Andrus, a partner at Andrus Anderson, said in Monday’s statement.
Disney has disputed the allegations and findings in the lawsuit but did not immediately comment on the settlement.
An analysis of Disney’s HR data from April 2015 to December 2022, conducted by UC Irvine professor and labor economist, David Neumark, revealed that female employees were paid about 2% less than their male counterparts.
The settlement agreement, filed in a California state court, still needs approval from a judge, according to the lawyers involved in the case.
