Rutgers University professors are suing the school over pay disparities, the New York Times reports.
Five female tenured professors have filed a lawsuit against Rutgers for paying them less than their male counterparts, according to the Times. It notes that two of the professors — Judith Storch and Nancy Wolff — have the title of "distinguished professor" and are well regarded in their fields. But, Storch, a nutrition scientist, says she earns about $46,000 less, on average, than the other biomedical distinguished professors, while Wolff estimates that she would have made, over time, an additional $500,000 if she had been paid the same as her colleagues, it adds.
The Times notes that the lawsuit comes following a 2018 study commissioned by the Rutgers faculty union that found female faculty members earned an average 2 percent less than male faculty members. It adds that Rutgers then reached a pay equity agreement with faculty and established a 90-day review process for salary adjustment requests. According to the Times, the professors in the lawsuit have filed such requests — one was filed in November 2019 — but they have not been addressed.