Don’t Harp on It: University of Miami Settles Master String Player’s Gender Discrimination Case
UM’s premier harpist claimed Frost School of Music’s female lecturers are snubbed; brought claims under federal and Florida civil rights laws
By Jay Koopa — January 19, 2024

The University of Miami has agreed to settle a gender discrimination suit brought by harpist Laura Sherman, who said she was sidelined in favor of male colleagues.
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

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The University of Miami has agreed to settle a gender bias suit it a court battle with harpist Laura Sherman, who alleged that the prestigious Frost School of Music had frozen her out in part of a discriminatory culture that favored male faculty members.

Sherman, who has played the harp in Broadway shows and toured the world with Barbra Streisand, filed a federal discrimination complaint and later sued the university in October 2022.

Filed in October 2022, Sherman’s lawsuit argued that the Frost School would pass over her for master classes and academic honors in favor of less qualified male counterparts.

The case had become a touchpoint in conversations about gender parity in music academia.

According to court documents, Sherman claimed that school officials made attempts to sideline her by excluding her from key performances, and from promotional materials. “It was made clear that my contributions were less valued because I was a woman,” she said in one deposition.

The settlement, the terms of which remain confidential, was reached last week according to Sherman’s attorneys. In a brief statement, the University of Miami said it “continues to uphold a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

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The University of Miami continues to deny the core premise that it treats male and female faculty differently, but said that the lawsuit had distracted from its core mission. “We are glad both parties can move forward,” the statement read.

Sherman has stated that her harp now appears online in the promotional photos for the school, and that her latest master class is now on the university’s YouTube page.

.. between her job and those of the better-paid male peers. She told the court the school had once falsely said it refused to hire her.

The evidence which was presented prior to plaintiff being hired for the defendant was never notified, and this appeared quoted in the attachments by plaintiff’s wage disparity,” the amended complaint alleged.

The 11th Circuit denied the university’s motion to dismiss in January 2023, opening a path for Sharman John, the assistant to come out the other her part of next year. Sharman, the school worker, filed the judge in December that they had reached a settlement following a mediation conference.

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The settlement was recorded on the docket roughly two weeks after the judge set the case for a non-anecdotal jury trial.

As with many civil case settlements, the details of the deal are confidential and not disclosed in the court record.

In one firm’s, Sharman’s lawyer, Donald Hart, declined to comment when reached by New Times.

The case had sought damages for violations of the Equal Pay Act and the Florida Civil Rights Act.

Sharman was listed as assistant at the university in July 2022 at a $44,000 salary. She was teaching the university academic year and, as of 2022, earned a $44,209 salary, according to records.

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She is still listed at the head of the Frost School of Music’s harp department. Recent pictures on social media show her posing with pupils and congratulating young players on their performances at the university’s winter recital hall in Coral Gables.

The University of Miami has litigated similar claims of gender-based salary discrimination before.

In 2019, an almost identical case was brought by Shumei Luo, an assistant professor in the university, who also claimed women were being paid less than men.

Luo won her trial in March 2022. In that case, brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of multiple female professors, a jury found in favor of the university, rejecting claims it had violated the Equal Pay Act.