Disney to pay $43 million for wages inequalities against women

The Walt Disney Company will pay $43 million to settle its lawsuit accusing it of pay inequalities between men and women.

The company was accused of paying lower wages to its female employees for eight years, according to a complaint filed by more than 9,000 former employees.

The lawsuit, filed in 2019 by LaRonda Rasmussen in California, accuses Disney of paying female employees $150 million less than their male counterparts.

According to the complaint, this wage difference affects the company’s female employees over an eight-year period.

Recall that in 2019, Rasmussen, an employee, discovered that she earned $20,000 less than six men in the same position as her.

One of these men even had fewer years of experience than her.

She then filed a complaint with the Los Angeles County Superior Court, which some 9,000 current and former employees subsequently joined.

According to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, Disney has agreed to pay $43 million as part of the settlement.

In addition, the company agreed to hire a labor economist for three years to analyze pay equity among full-time employees and resolve existing gaps.

Disney tried to stop the class action suit in 2023, but its request failed.

The judge found that current and former employees had taken personal risks in denouncing pay disparities at one of the world’s largest entertainment companies.