Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
03/28/2011

Contact:
Katie Broendel, broendelk@aauw.org
202/785-7761

Lisa Goodnight, goodnightl@aauw.org
202/785-7738

AAUW Stands with the Women of Wal-Mart during U.S. Supreme Court Hearing
Oral Arguments in Pay Discrimination Case Set for Tuesday

WASHINGTON–The American Association of University Women (AAUW) will show on-the-ground support outside the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday, March 29, when the high court hears oral arguments in Wal-Mart v. Dukes. From 9:30–11:30 a.m., AAUW members will provide a strong voice and moral support in the Rally to Stand with the Women of Wal-Mart. AAUW has taken an active role in supporting the lead plaintiffs through its Legal Advocacy Fund and by signing an amicus brief earlier this month. The generous support of AAUW's members ensured that the plaintiffs could attend the oral arguments.

The Supreme Court will determine whether the case can move forward as a class action. Lead plaintiff Betty Dukes, a current Wal-Mart employee, has alleged gender discrimination in pay and promotion policies and practices in Wal-Mart stores. If she and the other plaintiffs prevail, their case will become the largest class-action civil rights suit in the nation's history, comprising approximately 1.6 million female Wal-Mart and Sam's Club employees. AAUW supports class certification because it allows workers to band together to fight discrimination. Such cases can also send a strong message to employers to follow the law in the first place.

"AAUW isn't just proud to support these women; we believe it's absolutely necessary. Alone, Betty and her co-workers stand before a corporate Goliath, each woman burdened with enormous legal fees and without the moral support that a class action provides," said AAUW Executive Director Linda D. Hallman, CAE. "But together, they are a powerful voice for working families nationwide, and AAUW is determined to make that voice heard. No matter what happens, AAUW will continue to stand with Betty and other victims of pay discrimination — because when one of us is undervalued, we all lose."

"This case illuminates the dirty little secret that women know all too well — that pay discrimination is alive and well and undermining the economic security of American families," said AAUW Director of Public Policy and Government Relations Lisa Maatz. "Betty Dukes and the other plaintiffs are proof positive of the systemic problem in American workplaces that sometimes people are paid differently simply because of their gender."

The alleged gender discrimination in pay and promotions in this case contributed to AAUW's decision to support the lead plaintiffs. The AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund offers financial and organizational support for workplace- and academia-based cases that have the potential to provide significant protection for all women. Since 1981, LAF has disbursed nearly $2 million to more than 100 sex discrimination cases to help offset legal fees, support that has been instrumental to the success of many cases.

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The American Association of University Women (AAUW) advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Since 1881, AAUW has been one of the nation’s leading voices promoting education and equity for women and girls. AAUW has a nationwide network of more than 100,000 members and donors, 1,000 branches, and 600 college/university institutional partners. Since AAUW's founding 130 years ago, members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day — educational, social, economic, and political. AAUW's commitment to educational equity is reflected in its public policy advocacy, community programs, leadership development, conventions and conferences, national partnerships, and international connections.