If you want your employer to change, you can’t simply rely on a court to impose justice from above. Ending sex discrimination requires conscious and sustained effort: from the bottom up, from the top down, and from the outside in. From the bottom up, women employees (and their male supporters) have to document discrimination, collaborate with each other, and advocate for themselves individually and for all women where they work. From the top down, CEOs (or whatever title the top boss has) must commit themselves to closing the wage gap within their organizations. And from the outside in, women at large (and their male allies) must hold every employer accountable for closing the wage gap.
Government and plaintiff bias lawyers have come up with some constructive consent decrees in the past decade. In these judgments, employers “consent” to making agreed-upon changes in their workplace, sometimes supervised for a few years by court-appointed monitors. For instance, after some of the major class action lawsuits during the past decade, some financial services companies were forced to create objective measures by which new and old accounts would be distributed. Rent-a-Center’s consent decree required the creation of a human resources department that would write and enforce fair employment policies, and whose vice president would report directly to the CEO. Home Depot agreed to create an online job application system that enables anyone who’s qualified to apply for jobs and promotions, without having to know the “right” manager. Some consent decrees impose outside monitors (preferably more than one) who review reports, check on the climate, and measure compliance.
From the bottom up, women have already documented the discrimination thoroughly; otherwise the company wouldn’t have lost the case (or settled before that could happen). Outside pressure should exist not just in the form of court oversight, but also as embarrassing media coverage and public protest by women’s organizations. Most important, the third bar of the triangle should be in place: the CEO must be persuaded to transform the organization. Why would a CEO agree to make changes? Sometimes, just to be fair. At other times, to rebuild community good will, or to woo back alienated shareholders or customers.
In other words, bringing a lawsuit will only do part of the job. To make real change, you’ll need to build allies—among other employees, with the media, and among women at large who want to close the wage gap. You don’t have to turn every payday into a national issue. But neither can you afford to tackle the big problem of workplace sex discrimination all by yourself.
