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Beyond dispute
Descriptive
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Text
TitleInfo
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Title
Beyond dispute
SubTitle
EEOC v. Sears and the politics of gender, class, and affirmative action, 1968-1986
TitleInfo
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(type = alternative)
Title
EEOC v. Sears and the politics of gender, class, and affirmative action, 1968-1986
Identifier
ETD_1221
Identifier
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http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.000050485
Language
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eng
Genre
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theses
Subject
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(authority = RUETD)
Topic
History
Subject
(ID = SBJ-2);
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Sex discrimination in employment
Subject
(ID = SBJ-3);
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Sex discrimination against women
Subject
(ID = SBJ-4);
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Sex role in the work environment
Abstract
In 1973 the federal government began investigating Sears, Roebuck & Co. for discrimination against women employees because, among other things, its commissioned sales force was predominantly male. At trial, Sears argued that women were not interested in commissioned positions because they were too demanding. The decision, which found Sears not liable for discrimination, sparked a great deal of debate among feminists and in the media over the expert witness testimony of two women's historians. Employing oral histories, organizational records, court documents, and media accounts I use the case as a lens through which to view broader historical issues regarding women and work, social class, and national political changes during the 1970s and 1980s. I give a detailed social history of the case, focusing on the players and events that affected the outcome, and a legal-political history of the time period as reflected through developments in the case.
This dissertation recovers cross-class organizing at the beginning of a case known only for its divisiveness. It examines dynamics within second-wave feminism, including the implications of a shift in focus to the Equal Rights Amendment, the role of the equality/difference dilemma, and whether the loss in court to Sears was merely a defeat. The company's corporate personality foreshadowed the lengths to which it would go to fight the EEOC. I also reveal a significant amount of resistance within the first Reagan administration to changes in civil rights policy and show that the case continued with strong support despite ambivalence on the part of the government. The long litigation process ensured a case that looked very different from its beginnings. The feminist debate surrounding the trial highlights the end of a much longer story and distracts attention from critical issues. I argue for de-centering this feminist dispute, and remembering the case instead for what it can tell us about debates over affirmative action, attempts by women activists alternatively to work within and challenge national policy, the limits of the law and second-wave feminism for improving the lives of working women, and the reasons why the workplace revolution for women stalled and remains so today.
This dissertation recovers cross-class organizing at the beginning of a case known only for its divisiveness. It examines dynamics within second-wave feminism, including the implications of a shift in focus to the Equal Rights Amendment, the role of the equality/difference dilemma, and whether the loss in court to Sears was merely a defeat. The company's corporate personality foreshadowed the lengths to which it would go to fight the EEOC. I also reveal a significant amount of resistance within the first Reagan administration to changes in civil rights policy and show that the case continued with strong support despite ambivalence on the part of the government. The long litigation process ensured a case that looked very different from its beginnings. The feminist debate surrounding the trial highlights the end of a much longer story and distracts attention from critical issues. I argue for de-centering this feminist dispute, and remembering the case instead for what it can tell us about debates over affirmative action, attempts by women activists alternatively to work within and challenge national policy, the limits of the law and second-wave feminism for improving the lives of working women, and the reasons why the workplace revolution for women stalled and remains so today.
PhysicalDescription
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electronic resource
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ix, 404 p.
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Note
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Ph.D.
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Includes bibliographical references (p. 394-403)
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by Emily Beth Zuckerman
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Zuckerman
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Emily Beth
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Emily Beth Zuckerman
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Lawson
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Steven
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Steven Lawson
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Hewitt
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Nancy
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Nancy Hewitt
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Dorothy
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Dorothy Sue Cobble
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Basch
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Norma
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Norma Basch
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Rutgers University
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Graduate School - New Brunswick
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OriginInfo
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2008
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2008-10
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xx
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NjNbRU
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Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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ETD
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Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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rucore19991600001
Identifier
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doi:10.7282/T3DV1K53
Genre
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ETD doctoral
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Rights
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
Copyright
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Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
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Detail
Non-exclusive ETD license
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Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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Type
Embargo
DateTime
2011-10-17
Detail
This item has been embargoed at the author's request. It will be available after December 31, 2013.
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application/pdf
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1413120
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