Norway Wealth Fund Chief Quizzed in Wage Discrimination Case

Nicolai Tangen, chief executive officer of Norway’s $1.4 trillion wealth fund, told a hearing at Oslo’s district court that gender doesn’t influence salary decisions at the organization.

(Bloomberg) — Nicolai Tangen, chief executive officer of Norway’s $1.4 trillion wealth fund, told a hearing at Oslo’s district court that gender doesn’t influence salary decisions at the organization.

The fund’s former head of trading analytics, Elisabeth Bull Daae, is suing Norges Bank Investment Management, claiming that she felt bullied and was underpaid compared to male colleagues. The bank said the claims should be dismissed, according to court documents.

The fund “pays the same wage, for the same job,” and uses benchmarks, as well as internal and external expertise to protect against salary discrimination, Tangen said in testimony on Tuesday.

The case comes as Norway’s sovereign wealth fund seeks to use its muscle as the world’s biggest single owner of shares to take a stronger stance against companies that fail to live up to expectations on issues including pay gaps across race and gender.

The case, presided over by Judge Lili Noelle Sverdrup, runs through May 5, with case number 22-128657TVI-TOSL/03.

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