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Citi women win £16m over bias
Bill Condie, Evening Standard04.04.08
Banking giant Citigroup has agreed to pay $33 million (£16.5 million) to settle claims it denied equal opportunities to women brokers at its Smith Barney unit in the US.
Up to 2500 female current and former employees in the US can share in the settlement.
If divided equally, they would receive $13,200 each.
The case, initially brought by three women in California in 2005, accused Smith Barney of having a culture that prevented female brokers from competing fairly with men for new accounts, promotions and pay. The women alleged branch managers steered clients to male brokers, reducing the potential earnings of female employees.
It is not clear how many of the women are still employed at the brokerage.
A federal judge must approve the settlement, outlined in papers filed by the brokers' lawyers in San Francisco.
Citigroup also agreed to change how it awards bonuses and assigns accounts in future.
