So began a decision out of the United States District Court for
the District of Oregon last month, which dismissed a lawsuit
brought by Jennifer Freyd, professor of psychology at the
University of Oregon, against the University and two University
officials. In the lawsuit, Freyd alleged that although her own
department chair identified a "glaring" pay gap between
her and the men she works with, nothing has been done to equalize
her pay.
In 2016, the University's psychology department conducted a
self-study. One of the findings of the study was that there was a
"significant [gender] equity problem with respect to salaries
at the full professor level." The average annual difference
between male and female full professors was about $25,000. The
department also engaged a committee of outside professors to
perform an external review. That study also noted the "gender
disparity in faculty salaries at the full professor
level."
