Legalizing Gender Inequality: Courts, Markets and Unequal Pay for Women in America

ISBN-13: 9780521627504 / Angielski / Miękka / 1999 / 412 str.

Robert L. Nelson; William Bridges; Mark Granovetter

Opis

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.

Recenzje

"Legalizing Gender Equality is essential reading for scholars of social inequality, gender, and sociology of law. The books breaks new ground in a highly polarized debate over pay equity. The results of this compelling study testify to the importantce of mapping variations in gender inequality across different market and organizational contexts." American Journal of Sociology

Spis treści

List of figures and tables; Acknowledgements; 1. Law, markets, and the institutional construction of gender inequality in pay; Part I. Theory and Method: 2. Legal theories of sex-based pay discrimination; 3. Toward an organizational theory of gender inequality in pay; 4. Methodological approach: law cases, case studies, and critical empiricism; Part II. The Case Studies. Section A. Public Sector Organizations: 5. Paternalism and politics in a university pay system: Christensen v. State of Iowa; 6. Bureaucratic politics and gender inequality in a state pay system: AFSCME v. State of Washington; Section B. Private Sector Organizations: 7. Corporate politics, rationalization, and managerial discretion: EEOC v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.; 8. The financial institution as a male, profit-making club: Glass v. Coastal Bank; Part III. Conclusion: Legalizing Gender Inequality: 9. Rethinking the relationship between law, markets, and gender inequality in organizations; Appendix: court documents and case materials used in case studies; References; Index.