|
Women prepare for workforce
 Media Credit: Blair Schlichte Diane Cummisford, left, and Kate Gill were the presenters for “Taking it to the Courts: Women Fight for Workplace Justice” for Women on Wednesday. Students gathered to learn the stories of two cases that have challenged the structural and systemic problems of workplace sex discrimination.
|
|
When women enter the workforce, they face several obstacles, including the challenge of being a woman and fighting for equal treatment among their male peers.
Women have faced a long road in the battle for equality in the workplace, and the series Women on Wednesday, “Taking it to the Courts: Women Fight for Workplace Justice” discussed the most recent surge of women entering the labor force and what has happened in the context of the women’s movement.
Kate Gill, a member of a class-action lawsuit on sex discrimination of female faculty against SCSU that was settled in 2001, spoke about the lawsuit and the battle of women’s rights in the workplace. Gill received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Indiana University in 1986 and has worked at SCSU since 1987.
“This was a very powerful experience,” Gill said. “An eye opener.”
Diane Cummisford, a grassroots organizer of workplace justice, a former General Mills employee and, recently retired attorney, spoke regarding her lawsuit against General Mills on sex discrimination in promotions. She left General Mills after doing clerical work for nearly 20 years to become a powerful attorney. Cummisford has worked to identify and address inadequacies in the workplace. She has also worked with other discrimination victims in addition to being an attorney.
“The law is in constant flux,” Cummisford said.
For women at SCSU, those obstacles were first encountered in a class action lawsuit filed in 1974 by Ruth Schellberg on the behalf of the Minnesota Chapter of the Women’s Equity Action League. It was known as the Schellberg suit. The basis of the lawsuit was due to “the minimal utilization of women in policy making roles.” The charges were filed on behalf of women from three campuses; Mankato, St. Cloud and Moorhead against MnSCU.
It states that the state university system was charged with violating the equal pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards of 1938. The suit ended with the ruling that back-pay was to be given to the 75 women who filed suit over the years of 1972-1976 salaries.
Later in 1976, a class action lawsuit was filed against the state university system by SCSU faculty women. Dr. Mary Craik, a member of the psychology department at SCSU, filed a discrimination lawsuit referred to as the Craik case. This case was filed months after she had signed the Schellberg settlement.
The trail for the Craik case lasted into 1981. In 1982 the U.S. District court entered their ruling, finding in favor of the defendants on all counts. Craik decided to appeal this decision and it was later overturned by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1984. Settlement conferences were held into 1985 when an agreement was announced, however it withheld any salary adjustments. After several years, legal squandering and disagreements, an acceptance on salary equity adjustments was settled on March 16, 2001.
“In the process of salary adjustments, our union was very tenacious,” Gill said. “There are so many aspects in this case, there are different ways you can be discriminated against. The settlement had different aspects, of course there was the pay adjustments.”
Overall, there were three charges against MnScu and SCSU in the last lawsuit. They were based on discrimination in compensation, in promotions and tenure and in terms and conditions of employment (hostile work environment). The lawsuit also based its accusations on Title VII and the Federal Equal Pay Act.
“It was very different and very scary,” Gill said. “Because we did do it; it became a very powerful case.”
Both Gill and Cummisford urged women to be persistent women must in maintaining the equality they receive in the workplace, whether the discrimination is sexual harassment, hostile environment or pay inequity. They reinforced the idea that the greater number of women in the workforce calls for a reevaluation of fairness, respect and equality.
Of course, the difficulty wasn’t over when the case ended. The settlement money became another issue and then the questions on how to change institutional office practices.
“You have these two pots of money and you have to distribute it,” said Gill. “Back-pay and salary adjustments. There were some institutional changes in reference to record keeping and even though it was clear that there are people who specialize in statistics, it was still hard.”
Gill also wants women to remember that just because this settlement has happened doesn’t mean that it couldn’t happen again.
“There’s a lot of information to take care of,” said Gill. “It was a big deal to go through this lawsuit. Other things have been so hot on this campus with care to other discrimination issues. Pretty soon women need to regroup and pay attention to this issue.”
Women need to learn to protect themselves when entering the workforce.
“I want you to know what you can do to protect yourself,” Cummisford said.
Be aware. Look at your policies and your employment file.
“It starts long before you realize your problem,” said Cummisford.
Be assertive. Don’t be afraid to speak up, but have the facts. Be accurate. Don’t dwell on feelings. Look at the company organization charts and the income and profit statements to find out how women are paid. Beware of excuses and half truth statements ‘that make you sound bad.’ Believe in yourself and your claims.
“If you object, address the situation. The harder you push the better, but your self-esteem will fall under attack and they win several times,” Cummisford said.
The next few steps include balance and remaining credible. Cummisford wants women to remember that honesty is the best policy and that emotional trauma is part of the damage.
“You need to know the facts, that something happened,” she said. “Sometimes you have to use your ingenuity to collect your data.”
Remember to seek council. She points out that you do have the right to seek the advice of an attorney outside your work and you don’t have to tell your employer. Cummisford also emphasizes patience, keeping perspective and to seek progress.
“There is life after litigation and there are other ways to get thing changed,” she said. “The employer is like the powerful economic thing that controls.”
|
|
|
|
Privacy Policy Network Advertising Article Syndication
|
|
