Sex Discrimination in the Workplace

The results of this extremely data-rich study reveal that women attorneys are victimized by less obvious forms of discrimination than their male counterparts. Based on results of surveys conducted by the ABA in 1984 and 1990, this work challenges the notion that legislation outlawing discrimination actually works. Setting controls for a whole host of individual, firm, and locational characteristics, the study determined that although hourly earnings of female lawyers do not differ appreciably from those of male lawyers, the incidence of promotion from associate to partner is greater for men than for otherwise comparable women. Lentz and Laband also found evidence of sexual harassment and other less-tangible aspects of sex discrimination in the legal workplace. This book is essential reading for members of law firms, labor economists, feminist scholars, and human resource professionals.

"From the larger field of women and employment law, Maschke has carved out a study that focuses exclusively on the impact Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act has had on women workers. . . . Maschke focus[es] on the history of women workers from the days of protective laws, through the difficult birth of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, to present-day struggles involving pregnant workers, sexual harassment, and comparable worth. Although legalistically oriented, the book is also attuned to the political in noting diverse strategies among women's organizations and the varying congressional and presidential commitments to the promotion of the equality of women's workers. . . . Concise and readable with a select bibliography and index." Choice

Crashing the Old Boys' Network is the first book to examine the intense, and sometimes hostile, debate about Title IX and its application to girls and women in all areas of athletics. The facts and figures are highlighted by spirited commentary from Billie Jean King, Donna Lopiano, Pat Summitt, Chris Berman, and many others. By using the commentary of well-known personalities and experts in a variety of relevant disciplines, this book uncovers the roots of this controversy at all levels of athletics. While many believe Title IX and gender equity apply only to intercollegiate athletics, their reach touches girls in high school athletics as well. While not protected by Federal law, girls in youth sports, women in professional sports, and women in the sports media also suffer the negative effects of gender discrimination. While detailing many personal accounts and documenting a host of legal battles, the greatest value in this book lies in the successful examples it provides. Many opponents proclaimTitle IX to be a grim reaper for football and men's basketball. The author provides examples demonstrating how Title IX and gender equity can be achieved with rational, well-designed plans of action.

Samuel Cohn teaches at Texas A&M University.

So entrenched, long established, and powerful is the "patriarchy" within organizations that women have serious difficulty acquiring positions of real importance, even when it is in the organization's best interest to use their talents fully (and reward them equitably). Reeves surveys the structural obstacles to women's advancement within organizations and explains the mechanisms by which gender discrimination operates. Her book combines theory with case study accounts of 10 women who were suppressed, then fired, and documents how that sort of termination process works. The result is a fresh, new look at a seemingly intractable problem, presented readably and objectively.

Hauck's guide to the arbitration of sex discrimination grievances is authoritative, comprehensive, extremely detailed, and easy to use. It is a solid resource for the professional responsible for establishing guidelines for a company or organization. The author explains how arbitrators decide employment discrimination complaints. He blends law and arbitral thinking on an issue-by-issue basis and offers procedural recommendations for arbitration.

Based on case studies of four organizations that were sued for pay discrimination, Legalizing Gender Inequality challenges existing theories of gender inequality within economic, sociological, and legal contexts. The book argues that male-female earnings differentials cannot be explained adequately by market forces, principles of efficiency, or society-wide sexism. Rather it suggests that employing organizations tend to disadvantage holders of predominantly female jobs by denying them power in organizational politics and reproducing male cultural advantages. The book argues that the courts have, by uncritically accepting the market explanation for wage disparity, tended to legitimate and to legalize a crucial dimension of gender inequality.

"The Cost of Being Female is 30 cents", say the authors of this new book on discrimination against women. They demonstrate their thesis by constructing an index that documents the costs of discrimination against women in five aspects of life: economic, political, social, education, and health. The index compares the costs for American women with those of women in Sweden, Norway, France, and China, and measures the costs for three time periods: 1990s, 1950s, and the 19th century. The authors interviewed over 70 women, providing a human approach to the statistics of earnings, occupations, political participation, marriage, divorce, childbearing, education, and women's health. The women's narratives are living testimony to the experiences of the costs of being female.