Phoenix Act for Walmart Case
Dear friends of women in science,
I think it's important to pay attention to major news about women's rights even if it does not focus on science. We discussed the WalMart case. in which a class action suit was not permitted to go forward by the Supreme Court, earlier this year. It had been filed in 2001 and worked its way upwards through the court system. Although there was some evidence against WalMart in specific cases, the Supreme Court ruled that the class action was too inclusive, too undefined in its complaint, and dismissed the case. The plaintiffs wanted to show that WalMart nationally had not promoted or raised the salaries of women at stores fairly. So the plaintiffs were disappointed. In effect, this dismissal of the case meant WalMart was too big to sue in a class action. Some of the male justices made incredibly naive remarks about the possibility that all corporations might be sued if they permitted this suit, thus it seemed to me that they admitted that every corporation discriminates in salary and promotion against women. Well, duh, why do they think women don't measure up in salaries nationally? But that doesn't make it right!
Now, the California former women WalMart employees have filed a new lawsuit alleging sex discrimination. It's likely that this is the first of many new lawsuits, more defined in scope. This California suit may cover as many as 95,000 women in a class action suit covering alleged discrimination going back to 1998.
How do you feel about lawsuits like this? Do you follow them at all? Or do you just concentrate on your own position and issues that impact you more directly?
cheers,
Laura
Laura,
You are right about the assymmetry in jobs, but I believe many professions are low paying simply because they are historically populated by women, not because of the skills required or the difficulty of the position.
I'll never forget a grievance filed by the department secretaries when I was an undergraduate; senior secretaries were paid less than the person who drove a van and delivered the campus mail. The only job requirement for the driver was a current driver's license, which made the differential seem silly when compared to the secretarial job requirements.
Marian
Hi Mallory,
I agree, we will all gain or lose by how this and other such lawsuits fare in the courts. I hope the California suit prospers, but I am worried because it's likely that the same wide array of discrimination issues will come up in California that arose nationally, thus making it unclear that the class is cohesive. However, I am not a lawyer and should leave the predictions to them.
cheers,
Laura
Hi Marian,
Yes, that assumption is very self-serving of those well-paid men! But it is sometimes true. When you see the overall gender-based pay differential, it includes both jobs with comparable women's and men's positions with a pay differential and also a lower percentage of women in the best paying jobs. Neurosurgeon, rocket scientist, etc are rich in pay and rich in men. Women in medicine and physics end up in other less prestigious options and get lower salaries. So it's really both assymmetry in jobs and inequality of pay in the same job.
cheers,
Laura
Laura,
Keep posting! People need to understand that women are paid less than men for the SAME jobs. Too many assume that women earn less than men because they choose "easy" professions.
Marian
Hi Laura
I was aware of the disappointing decision denying the class action standing for this suit. It is yet another concrete lesson for all women how important it is to pay attention to who will be nominating justices to the US Supreme Court and just how long-lasting those consequences will be. The law applies to all women, so a defeat for equity before the law for one class of women affects all of us.
I hope they are successful in California and that all women will support their efforts.
Hi Coco,
No problem. I enjoy looking up this stuff, but I'm just curious how much people can pay attention to it.
cheers,
Laura
Hi Laura,
LOL I just let you find these and then I read your blog! I'm sorry to say I rarely have any time to read the news or even listen to it any more. The kids don't want to hear news in the car, and that was my last connection to the real world. So thanks for putting these issues on my screen!
CMR
