"This pathbreaking study sets forth the history of attempts to implement pay equity and evaluates the hidden costs of achieving equity. With candor and intelligence, the authors clearly detail the political, organizational, and personal consequences of comparable worth reform strategies. Using extensive data from Minnesota, where pay equity has proceeded further than in any other state in the nation, as well as comparative information from other states and localities, the authors expose the crucial initial steps which define public policy. "A perceptive and judicious analysis of comparable worth."—Wendy Kaminer, New York Times Book Review "Very well-crafted. . . . Wage Justice has admirably launched the scholarly evaluation of pay equity, revealing the unforeseen complexities of this key feminist public policy innovation."—Maurine Weiner Greenwald, Journal of American History "An insightful glimpse of the policy process."—Marian Lief Palley, American Political Science Review

In order to determine whether methods of job analysis and classification currently used are biased by traditional sex stereotypes or other factors, a committee assessed formal systems of job evaluation and other methods currently employed in the private and public sectors for establishing the comparability of jobs and their levels of compensation. A review of sociological and economic literature shows that some differences in the characteristics of workers and in jobs do form a legitimate basis for wage differentials. Nevertheless, there exists a pervasiveness of occupational and job segregation by sex. Given the current operation of the labor market and the existence of a variety of factors that permit the persistence of earning differentials between men and women (e.g., labor market segmentation, job segregation, and employment practices), it would seem that intentional and unintentional discriminatory elements enter into the determination of wages and are not likely to disappear. Use of a job evaluation system is one possible remedy to this situation. While the subjectivity of job evaluation makes job evaluations less than perfect vehicles for resolving pay disputes, they can serve to identify potential wage discrimination. (MN)

The well-documented gap between men's and women's earnings has aroused intense debate over the concept of comparable worth, that is, equal pay for work judged to be of equal value. Government, business, labor unions, and the courts have been forced to consider whether workers in dissimilar jobs of comparable worth—measured by such criteria as working conditions, degree of difficulty, and knowledge and responsibility required—should receive equal wages, and how wage adjustments can be implemented.The issue has provoked inflated rhetoric, litigation, and considerable confusion. In this concise study, Henry J. Aaron and Cameran M. Lougy review the conditions that have sparked the debate and unravel the implications of comparable worth for employers in public and private sectors, for labor union agendas and employer-employee negotiations, and for the administrative and and judicial burdens of the nation's courts. The authors conclude with general guidelines for implementing wage adjustments in ways that would not seriously disrupt society or have a major impact on overall economic efficiency.

Doing Comparable Worth is the first empirical study of the actual process of attempting to translate into reality the idea of equal pay for work of equal value. This political ethnography documents a large project undertaken by the state of Oregon to evaluate 35,000 jobs of state employees, identify gender-based pay inequities, and remedy these inequities. The book details both the technical and political processes, showing how the technical was always political, how management manipulated and unions resisted wage redistribution, and how initial defeat was turned into partial victory for pay equity by labor union women and women's movement activists. As a member of the legislative task force that was responsible for implementing the legislation requiring a pay equity study in Oregon, Joan Acker gives an insider's view of how job evaluation, job classification, and the formulation of an equity plan were carried out. She reveals many of the political and technical problems in doing comparable worth that are not evident to outsiders. She also places comparable worth within a feminist theoretical perspective. In the series Women in the Political Economy, edited by Ronnie J. Steinberg.

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • “A landmark manifesto" (The New York Times) that's a revelatory, inspiring call to action and a blueprint for individual growth that will empower women around the world to achieve their full potential. In her famed TED talk, Sheryl Sandberg described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk, which has been viewed more than eleven million times, encouraged women to “sit at the table,” seek challenges, take risks, and pursue their goals with gusto. Lean In continues that conversation, combining personal anecdotes, hard data, and compelling research to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can. Sandberg, COO of Meta (previously called Facebook) from 2008-2022, provides practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career. She describes specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment, and demonstrates how men can benefit by supporting women both in the workplace and at home.

"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

Women perform 66% of the world's work, produce 50% of the food, but earn 10% of the income and own 1% of the property. To shed light on why this grim statistic still holds true, Women, Business and the Law aims to examine legal differentiations on the basis of gender in 143 of the world's economies. Women, Business and the Law tracks governments' actions to expand economic opportunities for women across six key areas: accessing institutions, using property, getting a job, providing incentives to work, building credit and going to court. The report uncovers legal differentiations for women and married versus unmarried women such as being able to register a business, open a bank account and work at night. These issues are of fundamental importance. When, because of tradition, social taboos or simple prejudice, half of the world's population is prevented from making its contribution to the life of a nation, the economy will suffer. The empirical evidence does suggest that, slowly but surely, governments are making progress in expanding opportunities for women. It is our hope that data presented in Women, Business and the Law will both facilitate research on linkages between legal differentiation and outcomes for women, and promote better informed policy choices on what governments can do to expand opportunities for women.

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