Wall Street Hypocrisy Exposed: Bank Behind “Fearless Girl” Statue Fined For Systemically Underpaying Women

The bar for Wall Street hypocrisy has just been raised.
In a controversy that can only be described as hilariously ironic, Boston-based bank and asset manager State Street Corp – which famously created and installed the ‘fearless girl’ statue, purportedly symbolizing Wall Street’s progress toward gender equality in the workplace – to be a symbol of Wall Street’s progress toward gender equality, earlier this year – has agreed to pay $5 million to settle claims that it systematically underpaid female and minority employees, according to the New York Post.
State Street assented to the fine – but refused to admit wrongdoing – after being audited by the US Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. The DOL alleges that the firm’s systemic pay discrimination dates back to at least 2010 and affected hundreds of employees, primarily in senior-level positions.
‘OFCCP’s analysis demonstrates that a statistically significant disparity in compensation remained even when legitimate factors affecting pay were taken into account,’ the Labor Department said Thursday in its filing. The department alleges that black employees were also discriminated against, with at least 15 individuals being paid less in base salary and total compensation than their ‘similarly-situated’ white peers.
By installing the statue, State Street hoped to kill two birds with one stone: Burnishing its reputation as a female-friendly employer while helping to market its new ‘SHE’ ETF, which invests in female-led companies.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Oct 6, 2017.