Social Justice Concept – Gender Discrimination

The concept topic I have chose is gender discrimination in the work place. While reasearching this topic I discovered there are several types of gender discrimnation occuring in the work place. Direct discrimination, Indirect discrimination, Harassment at work, Victimization.

I found an article about direct discrimination filled in the U.S courts against Walmart. The case, which now covers as many as 1.6 million current and former female Wal-Mart employees, can be decided en masse because it is based on a statistical analysis that shows Wal-Mart paid female workers less and gave them fewer promotions than men. The salary gap widens over time even for men and women hired into the same jobs at the same time, that women take longer to enter into management positions, and that the higher one looks in the organization, the lower the percentage of women.” Women make up more than 70% of Wal-Mart’s hourly workforce but less than one-third of its store management, according to the plaintiffs. In this particular case, the female employees have enough in common to be treated as a whole. Walmart has said “A class action of this size would be unmanageable”, but the judge sees enough common issues and would like it presented at a single forum. Certification of this class shows that no employer, not even the world’s largest employer, is above the law. This decision sets the stage for women at Wal-Mart to get their fair share of pay and promotions which have been denied them for years.For the case to get this far is already a victory for the plaintiffs as most sex discrimination cases do not even make it to the courts.

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http://wiww.forbes.com/2004/06/23/cx_da_0623topnews.htmlI was suprised that a company as large and succesful as Walmart, would be discrimanating against their female employees. I believe that our biases do affect the way we address social justice issues.In this particular case the bias is against the female employees as they are not being treated the same as the male employees. I strongly believe that a position with any company large or small should be given to the employee who offers the best qualifications not wether they are male or female, that should never be a factor.