Numerous women employed by Goldman Sachs more than a decade ago revealed new allegations of how they were subjected to years of discrimination, sexual harassment and assault by male executives at the Wall Street giant.
Explosive allegations in new unedited court documents, released Thursday by attorneys representing some 1,400 plaintiffs who filed a class action lawsuit for gender discrimination, describe lewd and criminal behavior by senior bankers at the firm.
A judge has set a trial date in the US Southern District of New York on Thursday, June 5, 2023 for the years-long lawsuits.
The documents list at least 75 reported cases of sexual misconduct by male managers, as well as seven criminal charges alleging serious crimes, including rape, attempted rape and assault.
The company was also accused of dismissing executives with warnings, despite repeated complaints from female subordinates.
“For example, a male manager took his female employee to an abandoned office floor and offered her sex,” court papers claim. The male manager then called her “separately and said he was masturbating to the sound of her voice.”
“He also insisted that she come to his apartment, where he showed her photos he had taken of other female Goldman employees in lingerie,” the indictment read.
Cristina Chen-Oster, a former Goldman vice president, claimed she was sexually assaulted by a male colleague.goldmangendercase.com
Lawyers released internal complaints filed with Goldman officials between 2000 and 2011, describing how one manager allegedly told a female subordinate that “with that feisty character, you’d be good in bed.”
Another Goldman executive told a female subordinate he loved her, and repeatedly made sexually suggestive comments and advances during his business trips, the suit claims.
According to court documents, the woman was quoted as saying: “I spoke to this man who had just been promoted to VP … I told him how it made me uncomfortable how the guys were touching me, and he was really supportive and gave me advice on what I have to do it, and before I know it, his hand is on my ass too!”
“The plaintiffs’ presentation of the complaints does not reflect the reality at Goldman Sachs,” a spokesperson said. Bloomberg via Getty Images
A Goldman Sachs spokesperson told The Post: “The plaintiffs’ presentation of the complaints does not reflect the reality at Goldman Sachs. Many are two decades old and have been presented selectively, inaccurately and incompletely.”
The spokesperson added: “Discrimination, harassment and assault in any form are unacceptable at Goldman Sachs, and when identified, prompt action is taken, including termination.”
“Out of respect for those involved, we do not go into individual complaints.”
The court documents go on to list other cases of unwanted touching. A male employee allegedly showed his colleagues a sex tape he had made with an unknown woman and then “perpetuated the rumor that the woman was a female colleague”.
The lawsuit alleges that at least seven criminal charges have been filed for assault, attempted rape or rape by male Goldman employees.
A female employee claimed she was drugged and raped by a male employee after a company baseball game.
Allison Gamba claimed she was passed over for a promotion despite being a high-performing Goldman trader on the New York Stock Exchange.goldmangendercase.com
The lawsuit also alleged that a male manager harassed, groped, and suggested sex to a female subordinate during an orientation retreat.
After she rejected his advances, he followed her to her room, tried to get into bed with her and wouldn’t leave her alone until she could close the door, according to the indictment.
The court documents also allege that Goldman is “aware of these issues” and that it “tolerates executives who engage in gender stereotyping, sexual harassment and/or gender bias.”
A female employee claims it is “public knowledge” that a “participating director” was “inappropriate towards young women” and that “other women have inappropriate experiences with [him]’, and that she’s ‘terrified of being alone with him’.
The documents go on to list other alleged incidents, including one where the company only issued a “verbal warning” to a male manager who allegedly groped his assistant.
Shanna Orlich claims Goldman executives would hire escorts to wear skimpy outfits at corporate parties.goldmangendercase.com
Another associated man was given a “strong written warning” after spreading a rumor about a sex tape.
“In fact, sexual harassment perpetrators have been promoted to or allowed to remain in senior leadership positions,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers said.
One of the three named plaintiffs who filed the legal action against Goldman, Cristina Chen-Oster, first went public with her allegations in 2005.
The MIT student who rose to vice president at Goldman claimed that a male colleague pressed her against the wall and pushed his hand through her blouse as he tried to force himself on her.
The court documents also allege that Goldman is “aware of these issues” and that it “tolerates executives who engage in gender stereotyping, sexual harassment and/or gender bias.” Getty Images
Court papers allege that even after she reported the incident to the company, her attacker was promoted to director.
The other named plaintiffs in the case are Allison Gamba and Shanna Orlich.
Gamba claims she was passed over for a promotion despite generating a $9.5 million department record as a trader for Goldman on the New York Stock Exchange, while elevating less qualified male colleagues in rank and salary.
When she took her boss aside and asked him if he’d nominated her for a director role, she said he told her, “I’d have been a laughing stock if I’d nominated you.”
“I just knew I wouldn’t get a PhD anymore,” Gamba told Vox in 2019.
Newly redacted court documents contain at least 75 reported cases of alleged sexual misconduct between 2000 and 2011. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett
“My head was against the glass ceiling.”
Orlich worked at Goldman as an associate dealing in distressed credit. She claimed her manager had hired prostitutes “with short black skirts, strapless tops and Santa hats” for a holiday party.
Last month, a former Goldman banker, Jamie Fiore Higgins, released a memoir claiming that the investment bank’s Manhattan headquarters was so full of misogyny that a colleague kept a spreadsheet ranking female recruits by their “f–kability.” , and stated, “I want tits size and a– shape.”
Higgins, 46, of Somerset County, New Jersey, writes that a male co-worker told her she was promoted “because of her vagina” and that she was the target of “moo” noises from co-workers mocking her weight after she gave birth to her. fourth child.
A judge set a trial date of June 5, 2023 in the US Southern District of New York for the years-long lawsuits.Getty Images
On another occasion, she claims, she was forcibly stabbed against a wall by a male colleague who… [his hand] around my jaw” and threatened her as she hung in the air.
Higgins is the author of “Bully Market: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs,” currently Amazon’s #1 bestseller in the “Financial Services Industry” category.
The investment bank issued a statement to The Post saying, “Had Ms Higgins made these allegations to our human resources department at the time, we would have investigated them thoroughly and addressed them seriously.”
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination or retaliation against employees who report misconduct.”
A Goldman spokesperson also pointed out that in the “author’s note” section of the book, Higgins writes that the “Goldman Sachs individuals referenced are composite characters.”