The Supreme Court began to hear oral arguments in a very important case yesterday, Wal-mart Stores v. Dukes. The case was originally filed in trial court in 2004.
While only a few women are listed as the plaintiffs in this case, they are representing hundreds of thousands of other women who were allegedly similarly treated by Wal-Mart.
So what happened? Well, these women claim that Wal-Mart discriminated against them on the basis of their sex (which is a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964). They claim that women are paid significantly less than men in equal positions even though the women have better performance ratings and higher seniority, and that there are fewer opportunities for promotion for women and that, when they do receive promotions, they must wait longer for them than the men in the company. The women also claimed that this sex discrimination has been happening since December 26, 1998.
One of the most important legal components of the case is the fact that the plaintiffs are representing all women employed by Wal-Mart since December 26, 1998, because all of them may have been subject to discrimination. Whether or not such a large number of women can be represented is what is being brought to the Supreme Court right now (remember, if the plaintiffs were to win the case, all of those women would actually be winning the case). This would include female employees in 3,400 stores.
That's about as much time as I'm going to spend talking about the legality of whether this case can actually be brought in the court system. It will be interesting, of course, to see if the Supreme Court says that the case can be brought in this manner, since then the real decision of whether discrimination occurred will then, finally, actually be brought to trial (the case itself has not been heard yet because of these technicality issues).
Why is this case so important? Well, there are a few reasons. It's no secret to feminists that there are huge disparities in pay on the basis of sex. I talked about it a little in my second post, where I gave you all some facts about the wage gap. It certainly exists, and I don't think that anyone can contest that if they have seen the facts.
There's a lot of talk about whether or not, if the Supreme Court allows the case to continue with the hundreds of thousands of women as plaintiffs, the women will actually be able to prove discrimination on the basis of sex. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. What's so important, though, is the amount of media attention that this case has received. I know that it has caused many companies to become more aware of their wage and promotion policies and forcing them to take concrete steps towards stopping that subtle discrimination.
And, of course, the popularity of this case has brought it to the attention of many people who don't follow gender issues. The more people who are aware, the more likely we are to be able to bring about a change. I try to constantly advocate the small things that you can do - talking about this case with a friend would be one of them. Show him or her some of those facts that I put up on my second post. Remember, for every dollar than men make, women make on 77.5 cents. That's not okay, in my opinion.
Of course, if, eventually, the plaintiffs are able to win this case, it will be a huge step forward for women. We would be one step closer to stopping discrimination on the basis of sex. But, even if they lose (which I sincerely hope they don't if they are able to prove the discrimination), at least more people will have been made aware of the disparities in wages and promotions between men and women.
If you're interested in the case brief, check out the brief from the Ninth Circuit appellate court (California).
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