Wal-Mart Paying for Past Mistakes in Gender Discrimination

A class action lawsuit filed against Wal-Mart about 10 years prior is finally seeing the light of day and if it proceeds will be the largest civil-rights class action lawsuit in American history.  The case was filed by a group of women contesting what they see as gender discrimination in Wal-Mart practices. 

Charges include that the corporate giant gives fewer promotions to women, gives these promotions less, and pays men more for doing the same work.  Plaintiffs also point out that even though a majority of employees with the company are female, only 1/3 of the managerial staff are women. 

While it has recently received the go-ahead from the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals and is moving forward as a class action suit, there is an extremely good chance that Wal-Mart will be taking this one further by appealing to the Supreme Court.  According to the multinational corporation, Dukes v. Wal-Mart shouldn’t apply across the nation because of the way their organization is structured.  The framework of the corporation consists of a multitude of smaller entities that enact their own policies and operate like stand-alone entities. 

When you look at the size of the case, something else they are contesting, it’s no surprise they want to appeal.  If the case is allowed to move forward as a class-action, it could involve well over a million female plaintiffs.  Add in the typical penalties for gender discrimination and you are talking about a sizable dent in a company that is already suffering in the recession.  Not to mention the possible effects this case going public will have on their consumer base. 

However, this case is much bigger than Wal-Mart, who is certainly not the only company that could be singled out for disparities in pay among genders, and this is why I bring it up.  It could have a significant impact on how employers are held accountable for these situations and what will be expected in the future.

In this day and age, gender bias can be extremely expensive for business.  It’s easy to dismiss what is happening to Wal-Mart as something that could never happen to your company. 

After all, this corporate giant has had well more than its share of bad attention in the realm of labor practices, and many maintain that they would not be where they are today if not for taking advantage of employees on many different fronts.  That said, they have done a lot of PR cleanup in recent years and have made considerable improvements to their reputation.  This huge relapse is a stark reminder of how past mistakes can catch up with an organization.

And unfortunately, gender discrimination can be one of those things that creeps into the culture of a company unnoticed.  Sometimes these things are so ingrained in our culture that there is no official policy—they just kind of happen whether we are conscious of it or not. 

By no means does that make it any less immoral, or less expensive, for that matter, but it is yet another concern that deserves much focus when analyzing your own company policies.  That tendency for it to silently grow is where it gets particularly dangerous for a business owner.  And it’s why it is essential to get the opinion of an expert on the outside looking in. 

We cannot always see these things for ourselves, but if Dukes v. Wal-Mart has its day, there could be some big changes in the way these kinds of cases are looked at, and the resulting wave of similar cases is not something you want to catch while you’re sleeping.