KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A former orchestral director at the University of Kansas has filed a lawsuit against the university for gender-based pay disparity.
Carolyn Watson began working for the university in August 2018 and recently resigned.
During this time, Watson was the Director of the Orchestral Studies department. Around the time she resigned, Watson was also an associate professor in the School of Music.
Watson alleges in the lawsuit that men employees who held similar roles, had less experience and were assigned less duties, were paid more than she was.
Though she brought the matter to several administrators, her concerns were ignored, according to the suit.
In 2018, Watson was selected over 100 other applicants for her position. After winning the job, she became the first woman to lead the Orchestral Studies department.
When Watson was hired, she learned that the dean of the music department tried to block her employment.
The dean allegedly inquired into whether Watson's offer could be rescinded and favored hiring a man, according to the lawsuit.
During salary negotiations, Watson expressed that she was concerned about her salary.
Watson consulted with a professor of economics at the university who agreed that the offer was too low and offered her guidance on how to negotiate a higher salary.
She cited how the director of jazz studies and associated director of bands, who were both men, made more than her despite doing less work.
While trying to negotiate with Walzel, the dean allegedly became hostile with her and pushed her to quickly accept the position.
He was especially upset, according to the lawsuit, that she consulted with the economics professor and threatened to revoke her offer if she continued bringing up inequities in gender pay.
Watson said she wanted to work at the university, so she accepted the position.
Even after Watson arrived on campus, the dean allegedly continued to push to have her offer revoked because the thought it was "unethical" for her to seek guidance from the economics professor.
The dean later hired a male choral director and while doing so even increased his salary and rank.
Despite the animosity she received, Watson was successful during her tenure and won several national awards.
The dean's treatment pushed her to eventually resign, according to the suit.
Watson is seeking back pay and front pay, lost fringe benefits to be determined, liquidated damages and attorney fees.
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