tell me the pros and cons of signing a severence agreement and release

The pros are that you get money immediately.  The cons are that you waive all claims you may have had.  The only way you can bring any claims later is if you can somehow have the severance agreement invalidated, for example if you can prove that you were defrauded into signing it.  This is very unlikely.  You can try to negotiate a severance agreement which doesn't release any claims, or releases only certain categories of claims (not including gender discrimination, but I doubt very much your employer would agree to it.  You have to decide whether the value of your claim is more than the severance package you're being offered, taking into account how likely you are to win, how much you are likely to get at the end, how long it is likely to take, the attorneys' fees and other expenses you will incur if you sue, the likelihood that your employer will be able to pay any judgment you receive in the future, etc.  It may be worth your while to get some professional advice on these issues.