Attacking Sex Discrimination in the Labor Market: A Study in Law and Politics

This article describes how women have pursued their struggle against discrimination in employment by mobilizing the federal equal employment opportunity laws. Content analysis of sex discrimination cases decided by the U.S. Courts of Appeals between 1965 and 1985 shows that disputes between women and employers about employment practices occur especially often in regions where women are relatively poor, in managerial, professional, and technical occupations, and in government jobs; that women often act collectively against discrimination; that women win over half their cases; that women are more likely to win cases involving collective action than those which do not; and that there are nevertheless certain clear limitations to the victories women win in court. Implications for defining discrimination, gauging its pervasiveness, and affecting it through politics are discussed.