A year-old lawsuit against Salk Institute for Biological Studies alleging gender discrimination against women by three of its female scientists has been settled out of court.
The principals, Salk president Dr. Rusty Gage on behalf of the Salk Institute, and two of the three Salk professors involved in the suit, Drs. Kathy Jones and Vicki Lundblad issued the following joint statement on Salk’s website.
“When each of us joined the Salk Institute, we signed on to a bold and collective mission far bigger and far more important than our work as individual scientists,” the joint statement read. “Over the last year, the Institute’s collective nature has been put to the test, having entered into uncharted territory amidst very public litigation. As we have moved through the legal process, however, we have been reminded that whatever our differences, we must never lose sight of our aspiration to work for the betterment of humanity and for each other. “With that spirit in mind, in recent weeks the Institute’s leadership and Drs. Kathy Jones and Vicki Lundblad commenced discussions in hopes of resolving our disputes,” the statement continued. “Those productive conversations have led to a resolution of all claims between these parties that will enable us to put our disagreements behind us and move forward together at Salk for the collective good of the Institute and science.”
Contacted by La Jolla Village News, attorney Deborah Dixon of the San Diego law firm Gomez Trial Attorneys representing Jones and Lundblad, said the terms of the settlement with Salk did not allow her to discuss its details.
A year ago, three women involved in the lawsuit against the independent, non-profit, scientific research institute, contended it systematically discriminated against them on salary, benefits, promotions and access to private donations.
The female trio, in their suit, insisted Salk “allowed an old boys club to dominate creating a hostile work environment for Salk tenured women professors.” As evidence, they cited that, in a scientific field nearly equivalent in gender, that only four women, versus 28 men, had been promoted at Salk to be tenured professors.
Back then, the female scientist trio, which included Dr. Beverly Emerson, in their suit against Salk, alleged that “the Institute’s gender-biased policies and practices have led to both explicit and implicit gender discrimination … Salk allows a subset of senior men to openly vocalize biases against the Salk tenured women professors, which has created a hostile work environment … the discrimination has affected these women’s advancements within Salk. The pervasive gender discrimination is obvious, yet Salk takes no action to stop such conduct, or rectify its damage.”
At that time, then-Salk president Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn countered that, “I have both a personal and professional interest in ensuring that women are valued, supported and encouraged to be at the forefront of this critical work. I would never preside over an organization that in any way condones, openly or otherwise, the marginalizing of female scientists. We are saddened and deeply disappointed by the misrepresentations made by our colleagues in these claims, which we will defend against vigorously.”
Salk was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine. Among the founding consultants were Jacob Bronowski and Francis Crick, a co-discoverer of the structure of the DNA molecule which has led to genetic mapping.
The institute consistently ranks among the top institutions in the United States in terms of research output and quality in the life sciences. Salk employs 850 researchers in 60 research groups and focuses its research in three areas: molecular biology and genetics; neurosciences; and plant biology. Research topics include cancer, diabetes, birth defects, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and AIDS. The March of Dimes provided the initial funding and continues to support the institute.
A third party who had joined in the suit, Dr. Beverly Emerson, has issued the following statement through her attorney, Alreen Haeggquist :
“Dr. Emerson is a trailblazing scientist whose career was stymied by the very institute that should have been supporting her work. When she fought back – and demanded change, Salk retaliated – ending her career – and abruptly cut off her scientific research. Her case is not only about justice for one female scientist – but for all the women scientists at Salk – now – and in the future.”