Firm behind ‘Fearless Girl’ statue agrees on settlement

A financial firm who helped create Wall Street’s famed ‘Fearless Girl’ statue earlier this year, has agreed on a settlement with several woman and minorities who claimed to be ripped out of wages.

The conciliation agreement stated that based on a 2012 audit, the Boston-based company, State Street Corp. failed to comply to executive order 11426 and ‘discriminated against current or former employees on the basis of race, gender or any other protected classification.’

The corporation was accused of issuing at least 300 women and 15 black employees lesser compensation and bonus pay compared to their male colleagues.

State Street Corp., the financial firm who helped create Wall Street’s famed ‘Fearless Girl’ statue earlier this year, has agreed on a settlement with several woman and minorities

At least 300 women and 15 black employees claimed to be ripped out of wages and paid less than their male colleagues

At least 300 women and 15 black employees claimed to be ripped out of wages and paid less than their male colleagues

The United States Department of Labor confirmed in a statement that evidence of the claims were found through a thorough investigation and date back to December 2010.

On Thursday, a representative for State Street spoke to Bloomberg, saying: ‘State Street is committed to equal pay practices and evaluates on an ongoing basis our internal processes to be sure our compensation, hiring and promotions programs are nondiscriminatory.

Although the company has denied the claims, the rep confirmed the bank agreed to the hefty $5 million settlement – which includes $4.5 million in owed back pay as well as $500,000 in interest.

‘While we disagreed with the OFCCP’s analysis and findings, we have cooperated fully with them, and made a decision to bring this six-year-old matter to resolution and move forward,’ the spokesperson said in the statement.

The United States Department of Labor confirmed in a statement that evidence of the claims were found through a thorough investigation and date back to December 2010

The United States Department of Labor confirmed in a statement that evidence of the claims were found through a thorough investigation and date back to December 2010

The software company said that this year, State Street ‘voted against the re-election of the chair or most senior member of a board’s nominating and governance committee at 400 firms with men-only boards.’

The ‘Fearless Girl’ statue erected on March 7 next to the ‘Charging Bull’ was an idea initiated by State Street and created by McCann New York.

The purpose of the statue is to celebrate women in leadership as it was placed in the heart of the financial district – which has longtime been a male-dominated work culture.

Natalie Grybauskas, a New York City mayoral spokeswoman, said in a statement the statue ‘elevated important conversations about women in leadership.’

The award-winning statue recognized around the world, is set to stay up through February 2018.

She added that city officials are ‘exploring the possibility of keeping the Fearless Girl for longer than currently permitted.’

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk