alstin communications

Watch any episode of Mad Men – please tell me you are watching, Season 4 starts on July 25th!!! – and you’ll get the gist of what gender bias in the workplace may have been like back in the day. In 1963, women who were working full time earned just 59 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. That same year, in an effort to remedy the disparity, the Equal Pay Act, designed to “prohibit discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers,” was passed.

While it may seem like a snail’s pace – less than half a percent per year since the Act went into effect – the gap is closing. Women now earn 76 cents for every dollar a man earns in today’s market. OK, so I’m not exactly cheering “You’ve come a long way, baby!” with that statistic, but admittedly, we’re headed in the right direction.

Go ahead, make your arguments that the continued disparity is all because of women’s typical career choices, an under representation in the math and science fields, career pathways that allow for flexibility and a possible reluctance of women as a whole to go the entrepreneurial route. There may very well be some truth to all of them.

However, this piece by CBS News offers more insight into what working women have in store as time marches on:

• Within 22% of dual income male/female households, the women are the breadwinners
• It’s projected that women will start to earn 60% of Bachelor’s degrees – women currently make up 58% of all college students
• Women will soon hold more full time jobs than men
• Equal Ambition – high achieving, female millenials who are entering the marketplace are keenly aware of the wage gap and will settle for nothing less than equal pay

But it is not just the millenials who will never settle. There is currently a landmark law suit now set to go to trial that was filed by six female Walmart employees alleging “systemic sexism” by their former employer.

Walmart argues that they “foster female leadership among their associates and in the larger business world.” Those filing suit claim that they’re paid less than men in the same or comparable role, receive fewer promotions and wait longer for promotions. If you want more in-depth details, check out this report from ABC News.

As one of the nation’s largest private employers, this case could potentially be the largest class action lawsuit in American history – many also predict that this one will ultimately land in the Supreme Court. No company should be considered “too big to be held responsible” when it comes to discriminatory practices, but playing devil’s advocate: does the experience of six women who worked in 13 stores truly reflect the corporate culture of an organization that has 2.1 million workers in 8,000 stores worldwide? The courts will decide and the impact of this case will truly be far reaching.  Stay tuned – and tune into Mad Men while you’re at it!

Author Bio:  Annette DeHaven, Alstin's Vice President, Operations, serves as right hand woman for an impressive roster of clients. Known for addressing problems head-on, Annette, who's led by example for more than 15 years, remembers crazy statistics, regularly spouts off mind-bending metrics, and recalls just about every field description for birds you've never heard of.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 at 10:50 am and is filed under The Daily Update. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.