MAKING AMENDS

Bank Behind ‘Fearless Girl’ Statue Agrees to $5M Settlement in Gender-Pay Dispute

State Street has reportedly agreed to pay $5 million to hundreds of women.

The bank behind Wall Street’s famous “Fearless Girl” statue has agreed to pay $5 million to more than 300 women as part of a settlement agreement in a dispute over gender discrimination, Bloomberg News reports. State Street Corp., a Boston-based asset-management firm, installed the statue of the little girl bravely staring down Wall Street’s Charging Bull statue this year. Created by the State Street Global Advisors, the statue quickly became a symbol of female empowerment. According to a settlement agreement released Thursday, however, State Street has been accused of discriminating against female employees since at least December 2010. A 2012 audit conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor alleges that women in senior leadership positions at the company received lower base salaries, bonus pay, and total compensation. Similar findings were made regarding 15 black executives at the company, according to the settlement agreement. While State Street has agreed to a $5 million settlement over the allegations, the company has denied the claims, saying in a statement Thursday that it is “committed to equal pay practices.”