In the 21st century, which is regarded as the most modern and civilized era, it is bizarre to read about women being discriminated at their workplace. These days, many newspapers carry headlines of some giant business corporation being sued by its women employees for alleged discrimination on gender grounds. This is happening in a suave, dignified, well-mannered, elegant and educated society that boasts of equality of sexes in all spheres of life! The recent class-action suits filed against giants like Wal-Mart, Morgan Stanley, Boeing and Merrill Lynch bring to light the discriminations against female employees and the contemptible attitude of their male colleagues and bosses towards them. It is shameful to find that sometimes the women employees are treated inhumanly in today’s so-called ‘liberalized’ society. Surprising is the fact that it is widely prevalent in the developed world where women have been very successful. Devika Varadarajan, Managing Director, Polaris Management Services Pvt. Ltd., says, “It only shows very clearly that subtle as well as direct forms of discrimination exist even in developed countries and it is not restricted to any strata of society. Some women may have succeeded but that is despite all odds.”

White-collar to blue-collar Be it the white-collared workers of high profile Wall Street or the blue-collared workers of Wal-Mart, the situation seems to be the same for all women employees. The world’s largest retail owner and private employer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is presently defending itself against the largest private civil rights case filed against it by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC, an agency created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964) on behalf of the women employees of Wal-Mart. The class-action suit covers all the women employees who have worked for any of Wal-Mart Stores since December 26, 1998 totaling to about more than 1.6 million. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2001 by six women alleging that Wal-Mart followed a system where the female workers were paid less than their male counterparts for similar jobs and were deprived from promotions and other employment opportunities like training, health benefits, etc.

The charges have been filed claiming violation of the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 of the US. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individuals against employment discrimination on the basis of sex as well as race, color, national origin, and religion. According to the Act, it is unlawful to discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of gender with regard to hiring, termination, promotion, compensation, job training, or any other term, condition, or privilege of employment. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires that men and women be given equal pay for equal work in the same establishment. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal.