One day last fall, University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB)
Professor Yolanda Broyles-Gonzalez woke up and decided she was not
going to take it anymore.
She had long known that women professors with equal experience at
the university were not being paid the same as their male colleagues.
So, after many sleepless nights, she decided to challenge that practice.
“I was paid less at every step of the way,” said Broyles-Gonzales of her twelve years at UCSB.
Now eight months later, Broyles-Gonzalez, who is of Chicana-Yaqui
heritage, has altered history. UCSB, several studies concluded, paid
male full professors an average of $12,900 more than it paid female
full professors. As a result of those studies, Broyles-Gonzalez is the
first woman in the UC system to emerge victorious in a gender pay
equity lawsuit.
“It took a woman of color to challenge the inequities,” said
Broyles-Gonzalez, who credits WAGE (We Advocate Gender Equity) as the
principal organization which supported her throughout her struggle. “I
hope my case serves as a prelude to other discrimination cases.”
Both she and the university agreed to settle the lawsuit out of
court, with precedent-setting terms calling for a permanent court
injunction mandating that the university cease its gender and race
discrimination against Broyles-Gonzalez. It also calls on the
university not to retaliate against her because of her political views.
A press statement released by UCSB, on behalf of Chancellor Henry
T. Yang said, “I’m glad that we have reached a resolution to this
dispute.”
