Because of Sex: One Law, Ten Cases, and Fifty Years That Changed American Women's Lives at Work
One of The New York Times’s 10 Books to Read for Women’s History Month
Gillian Thomas's Because of Sex tells the story of how one law, our highest court, and a few tenacious women changed the American workplace forever. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act revolutionized the lives of America’s working women, making it illegal to discriminate “because of sex.” But that simple phrase didn’t mean much until ordinary women began using the law to get justice on the job—and some took their fights all the way to the Supreme Court. These unsung heroines’ victories, and those of the other women profiled in Because of Sex, dismantled a Mad Men world where women could only hope to play supporting roles, where sexual harassment was “just the way things are,” and where pregnancy meant getting a pink slip.
"1121780526"
Because of Sex: One Law, Ten Cases, and Fifty Years That Changed American Women's Lives at Work
One of The New York Times’s 10 Books to Read for Women’s History Month
Gillian Thomas's Because of Sex tells the story of how one law, our highest court, and a few tenacious women changed the American workplace forever. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act revolutionized the lives of America’s working women, making it illegal to discriminate “because of sex.” But that simple phrase didn’t mean much until ordinary women began using the law to get justice on the job—and some took their fights all the way to the Supreme Court. These unsung heroines’ victories, and those of the other women profiled in Because of Sex, dismantled a Mad Men world where women could only hope to play supporting roles, where sexual harassment was “just the way things are,” and where pregnancy meant getting a pink slip.
19.0
Out Of Stock
51
Because of Sex: One Law, Ten Cases, and Fifty Years That Changed American Women's Lives at Work
One of The New York Times’s 10 Books to Read for Women’s History Month
Gillian Thomas's Because of Sex tells the story of how one law, our highest court, and a few tenacious women changed the American workplace forever. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act revolutionized the lives of America’s working women, making it illegal to discriminate “because of sex.” But that simple phrase didn’t mean much until ordinary women began using the law to get justice on the job—and some took their fights all the way to the Supreme Court. These unsung heroines’ victories, and those of the other women profiled in Because of Sex, dismantled a Mad Men world where women could only hope to play supporting roles, where sexual harassment was “just the way things are,” and where pregnancy meant getting a pink slip.
GILLIAN THOMASis a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Women’s Rights Project. She previously litigated sex discrimination cases at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Legal Momentum (formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund). Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, and Slate, and she has been interviewed by NPR and The Wall Street Journal, among others. She lives in Brooklyn.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction 1 Women and Children Last—Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corporation (1971) 2 Breaking Through the Thin Blue Line—Dothard v. Rawlinson (1977) 3 Live Long(er) and Prosper—City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power v. Manhart (1978) 4 A Hostile Environment—Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson (1986) 5 “A Floor, Not a Ceiling”—California Federal Savings & Loan Association v. Guerra (1987) 6 Making “Lady Partner”—Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins (1989) 7 Potentially Pregnant—International Union, United Auto Workers of America v. Johnson Controls, Inc. (1991) 8 Taking It All the Way to “Sandra Fucking Day O’Connor”—Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. (1993) 9 Don’t Shoot the Messenger—Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Company v. White (2006) 10 “Everyone Deserves a Safe Delivery”—Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc. (2015) Epilogue