Women: Not a Class of People, According to Wal-Mart

by: Suzanne Reisman

Tue Aug 31, 2010 at 16:56:12 PM EDT

A few weeks ago, I went on a shopping spree at Wal-Mart.  So many items!  So inexpensive!  But like any binge session, I am filled with regreat and shame in the aftermath.

My brain was so overloaded during my time in Wal-Mart that I forgot that they have been vigorously discriminating against female employees for years.  Despite statistical evidence that Wal-Mart pays women less than men for the same job, promotes female employees more slowly than male employees, and deepens salary differences over time even for employees who start off at the same pay level, Wal-Mart insists that women are not a class of people.  As a result, they cannot file a class action lawsuit to rectify the situation.

Like anyone with common sense, I hope that the Supreme Court will see that this claim is as insane as the price of a thermal undershirt I bought at Wal-Mart ($1!).  I may have only paid $1 for it, but the women who work at Wal-Mart more than made up the difference in price.  There's no such thing as a free lunch.  Someone always pays in the end, and the female employees have paid far more than their share.