Comparable worth-the idea that women ought to be paid the same wages as men performing comparable although not the same jobs-has generated a firestorm of controversy. This analysis of the comparable worth debate takes up its pros and cons in an extraordinarily disciplined and fair-minded manner. After outlining the debate, Paul attempts to resolve

"Working from grass-roots cases, Linda Blum develops an astute and groundbreaking analysis of the comparable worth strategy for gender pay equity. Her intelligent, lucid book makes an incomparable contribution to scholarly and public debate on one of the most significant labor issues in late twentieth-century America."—Judith Stacey, University of California, Davis

In 1964, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act outlawed workplace sex discrimination, but its practical meaning was uncertain. Equality on Trial examines how a generation of workers and feminists fought to infuse the law with broad notions of sex equality, reshaping workplaces, activist channels, state agencies, and courts along the way.