Scores of ladies employed at Goldman Sachs greater than a decade ago unsealed fresh accusations of how they were subjected for years to discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual assault by male managers on the Wall Street giant.
Explosive allegations in newly unredacted court documents, released Thursday by attorneys representing some 1,400 plaintiffs who’ve filed a class-action sex discrimination lawsuit, detail lewd and criminal behavior by senior bankers on the firm.
A judge on Thursday set a trial date of June 5, 2023, within the US Southern District of Recent York for the yearslong litigation.
The documents list at the very least 75 reported instances of sexual misconduct by male managers in addition to seven criminal complaints alleging serious felonies including rape, attempted rape and sexual assault.
The corporate was also accused of letting off managers with warnings despite repeated complaints from female subordinates.
“As an example, one male manager took his female worker to an abandoned office floor and propositioned her for sex,” court papers allege. The male manager then “individually called her and said he was masturbating to the sound of her voice.”
“He also insisted that she come to his apartment, where he showed her pictures he had taken of other Goldman female employees in lingerie,” the grievance read.
Cristina Chen-Oster, a former Goldman vice chairman, alleged that she was sexually assaulted by a male colleague.goldmangendercase.com
Attorneys released internal complaints that were submitted to Goldman officials between the years 2000 and 2011 describing how one manager is claimed to have told a female subordinate that “with that feisty nature, you could be good in bed.”
One other Goldman manager told a female subordinate that he loved her, and repeatedly made sexually suggestive comments and overtures during his business trips, the suit claims.
In keeping with court papers, the lady was quoted as saying: “I used to be talking to this guy who just got promoted to VP…I told him about the way it made me uncomfortable how the fellows were touching me, and he was really supportive and giving me advice on what to do, and the subsequent thing I do know, his hand is on my ass, too!”
“The Plaintiffs’ presentation of the complaints doesn’t reflect reality at Goldman Sachs,” a spokesperson said.Bloomberg via Getty Images
A Goldman Sachs spokesperson told The Post: “The Plaintiffs’ presentation of the complaints doesn’t reflect reality at Goldman Sachs. Many are 20 years old and have been presented selectively, inaccurately and are incomplete.”
The spokesperson added: “Discrimination, harassment and mistreatment in any form are unacceptable at Goldman Sachs, and when identified, swift motion, including termination, is taken.”
“Out of respect for the individuals involved, we will not be going to comment on the person complaints.”
The court documents go on to list other instances of unwanted touching. One male worker is claimed to have showed co-workers a sex tape he made with an unidentified woman after which “perpetuated rumor that the lady was a female co-worker.”
The suit claims there have been at the very least seven criminal complaints filed alleging sexual assault, attempted rape, or rape by male Goldman employees.
One female worker alleged she was drugged and raped by a male worker after an organization baseball game.
Allison Gamba alleged that she was omitted for a promotion despite being a high-performing Goldman trader on the Recent York Stock Exchange.goldmangendercase.com
The suit also alleged that a male manager harassed, groped, and propositioned a female subordinate for sex during an orientation retreat.
After she rejected his advances, he followed her into her room, tried to get into bed along with her, and wouldn’t leave her alone until she was in a position to lock the door, in accordance with the suit.
The court documents also allege that Goldman is “aware of those problems” and that it “tolerates managers who engage in gender stereotyping, sexual harassment, and/or gender favoritism.”
One female worker alleges that it’s “widely known” that a “participating managing director” was “inappropriate toward young women” and that “other women have inappropriate experiences with [him],” and that she is “petrified of being with him alone.”
The documents go on to list other alleged incidents, including one by which the corporate offered only a “verbal warning” to a male manager who is claimed to have groped his assistant.
Shanna Orlich alleges that Goldman managers would hire escorts to wear skimpy outfits during company parties.goldmangendercase.com
One other male associated was let off with a “strongly worded written warning” after he spread a rumor of a sex tape.
“In actual fact, perpetrators of sexual harassment have been promoted to or allowed to stay in senior managerial positions,” in accordance with attorneys representing the plaintiffs.
Considered one of three named plaintiffs who filed the legal motion against Goldman, Cristina Chen-Oster, first went public along with her allegations in 2005.
The MIT grad who rose to turn out to be a vice chairman at Goldman alleged that a male co-worker pinned her against the wall and shoved his hand down her shirt while attempting to force himself on her.
The court documents also allege that Goldman is “aware of those problems” and that it “tolerates managers who engage in gender stereotyping, sexual harassment, and/or gender favoritism.”Getty Images
Court papers allege that even after she reported the incident to the corporate, her assailant was promoted to managing director.
The opposite named plaintiffs within the case are Allison Gamba and Shanna Orlich.
Gamba alleges that she was omitted for a promotion despite generating a department record of $9.5 million as a trader for Goldman on the Recent York Stock Exchange while less qualified male colleagues were elevated in rank and pay.
When she pulled her boss aside and asked him if he had nominated her for a managing director role, she said he told her: “I might have been a laughing stock if I had nominated you.”
“I just knew I wasn’t going to get promoted anymore,” Gamba told Vox in 2019.
Newly redacted court documents list at the very least 75 reported instances of alleged sexual misconduct between 2000 and 2011.SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett
“My head was up against the glass ceiling.”
Orlich worked at Goldman as an associate who traded distressed credit. She alleged that her manager hired prostitutes “wearing short black skirts, strapless tops, and Santa hats” for a vacation party.
Last month, a former Goldman banker, Jamie Fiore Higgins, released a memoir alleging that the investment bank’s Manhattan headquarters was so rife with misogyny that a colleague kept a spreadsheet rating female recruits on their “f–kability,” declaring: “I need tit size and a– shape.”
Higgins, 46, of Somerset County, Recent Jersey, writes that she was told by a male colleague that she was promoted “due to her vagina” and that she was the goal of “moo” sounds from co-workers who mocked her weight after she gave birth to her fourth child.
A judge set a trial date of June 5, 2023, within the US Southern District of Recent York for the yearslong litigation.Getty Images
On one other occasion, she alleges, she was violently pinned to a wall by a male colleague who “wrapped [his hand] around my jaw” and threatened her while she was suspended in midair.
Higgins is the writer of “Bully Market: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs,” which is currently Amazon’s No. 1 bestseller within the “Financial Services Industry” category.
The investment bank provided an announcement to The Post that read: “Had Ms. Higgins raised these allegations with our human resources department on the time we might have investigated them thoroughly and addressed them seriously.”
“We’ve got a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination or retaliation against employees reporting misconduct.”
A Goldman spokesperson also identified that Higgins writes within the “writer’s note” portion of the book that the “Goldman Sachs individuals referenced are composite characters.”
