Dukes vs. Wal-Mart

In 2002, seven women from California, all either former or current Wal-Mart employees are charging the company with systematic sex discrimination in promotions, assignments, training and pay. The majority of Wal-Mart associates are women. Their average is $7.50 an hour. Gretchen Adams, who is a Wal-Mart employee for ten years states, "There are so many inequities...men with little to no relevant experience earning starting salaries of $3,500 a year more than her own...I had the title but not the pay...they take us for idiots." Adams is now a witness for the Dukes vs. Wal-Mart case. Betty Dukes is a 52 year old African American woman who is currently working at Wal-Mart. After two years of working at Wal-Mart, she was given a merit pay raise and a full time job. Two years after that she was promoted to a position of customer service manager. She began to undergo hard discrimination from her superiors. She was ultimately denied to training that was needed in order to advance further while male employees were receiving the same training at the same time. She was also denied to opportunity to work in "male" departments like hardware. Similar stories began to be told during the Dukes vs. Wal-Mart trial. One in particular was experience by Deborah Gunter who has had thirty years of retail experience. She began working at a Riverside, California Wal-Mart in 1996. She claims that she applied for several management positions and was pass over for less experienced men. She also requested training and never got it. Gunter states that when she was transferred to the Tire Lube Express Department she did the work of a support manager but never received the title or pay. Her supervisor sexually harassed her, and when she complained, her hours were reduced.

The Dukes vs. Wal-Mart case proves the point that discrimination towards women in the workplace still exists today. Women are still having the take their experience to court and have to continue to fight for their rights. Some individuals claim that women choose to work in lower-paying jobs, but this case goes to show that women like Betty Dukes want the opportunity to work like men. She wanted to work in the hardware department of Wal-Mart and was still denied the job because of her gender. Women with thirty or more years of experience are being denied promotions and advances only because they are women. The Dukes vs. Wal-Mart case could be considered the largest civil rights class-action suit in history because of its affect on more than 700,000 women. The problem still exists today, but the more women continue to voice their opinions the more opportunities for change will come.

Featherstone, Liza. "Wal-Mart values: selling women short. (articles). (sex discrimination case brouhgt against discount store)." The Nation. 16 Dec 2002: 11. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 7 Feb 2010. <http://find.galegroup.com/>.