Issues Before the Courts

Coalition action materials related to Wal-Mart v. Dukes. On March 29, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, to determine whether the women employed at Wal-Mart stores across the country can join together in a class action lawsuit to challenge pay and promotion practices that discriminate against women. If Wal-Mart succeeds in keeping these women from joining together, the already uphill battle for women to fight pay discrimination will get even worse.

On March 29, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Wal-Mart v. Dukes,  to determine whether the women employed at Wal-Mart stores across the country can join together in a class action to challenge pay and promotion practices alleged to discriminate against women.  To establish that they should be allowed to bring their case together, as a class, the women employees presented statistics in the courts below showing that female workers at Wal-Mart earned less than comparable male workers and were less likely to be promoted.   Those disparities were bolstered by evidence that Wal-Mart’s corporate policies and practices allowed for sex-stereotyping to operate as the driving principle in the pay and promotion decisions for its women employees.  Experts concluded that Wal-Mart's policies and corporate culture perpetuated these sorts of gender stereotypes across the entire company.  The plaintiffs’ evidence speaks for itself—and squarely establishes that a class should proceed.