Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers' Rights at Wal-Mart

"Selling Women Short" by Liza Featherstone is an engaging book about the historic 'Betty Dukes vs Wal-Mart Stores Inc' class action lawsuit that alleges Wal-Mart's institutionalized discrimination of its female employees. Skillfully weaving anecdotes and profiles of key plaintiffs and their claims of sexism with research about Wal-Mart and its Orwellian corporate culture, the book provides an excellent critique of the company's numerous illegal behaviors and a humane narrative of its female employees' struggle for justice. Interestingly, Ms. Featherstone's analysis suggests that the company's paradigmatic success is attributable to its parasitical relationship with the declining fortunes of the working class. Wal-Mart cynically promotes itself as a pro-family, pro-American company even as it offers poverty-level wages and imports most of its wares from foreign, low-wage countries. In this manner, Ms. Featherstone explains that Wal-Mart both contributes to and profits from the exploitation of marginalized female laborers. Ms. Featherstone is careful to discuss the limitations of the lawsuit as a tool to effect systemic change at Wal-Mart. She contends that it is probably equally important for the public to become educated about the inequities at Wal-Mart in order to create a media firestorm that might pressure the company to change its ways. However, Ms. Featherstone describes the difficulties that unions and interest groups have had trying to organize labor and shoppers in the struggle with Wal-Mart, contending that our consumer culture tends to set aside worker's rights issues in favor of shopping expediency. Nevertheless, as the lawsuit moves forward the author is hopeful that Wal-Mart may soon feel the need to make significant changes in order to avert a court-imposed solution and/or a public relations catastrophe. I highly recommend this outstanding book to everyone.

It is amazing that this book hasnt gotten more attention that it has. In one of the well-organized, focused book on corporate behavior, Liza presents the basis of the class action lawsuit against the retailing giant - Walmart. It is really shocking to see that the self-styled conservative retailer seems to be more of a sexist (and some some plaintiffs allege, racist) corporate giant. Even if there is a modicum of truth in the arguments made in this book (which seems to be the case, looking at its well-documented arguments and statement of facts), Walmart may be in trouble. The allegations reported in the book, mostly part of the class action lawsuit, could have far reaching implications than just changing Walmarts style of functioning. Due to its clout in the retailing industry, its ability to prevent unionization of workers, and a host of other unique business practices, Walmart has been a successful company - financially, at least. This lawsuit may have some unpleasant implications for Walmarts investors as well. Any one remotely connected to Walmart - shoppers, employees, employees of its major suppliers, investors, industry watchers....all will gain a new perspective from this book. Liza does try to provide a balanced picture by incorporating Walmarts positions or rebuttals, wherever available. Moreover, theg allegations are presented in a logical manner without any histrionics. The first chapter of the book is perhaps the best written. Though the rest of the book is interesting and well-organized, the stories of the different employees come back to the same point over and over again. For some parts of chapters 3 and 4, it gets a little bit monotonous. Other than that, the book is an excellent read.

Betty Dukes is the lead plaintiff in a recent class action lawsuit charging Wal-Mart, the nation's biggest employer, with sex discrimination in pay and promotions.The giant retailer recognized the energy and dedication of the 52-year-old African American clerk - until she applied for promotion to management and crashed into a glass ceiling. When she complained, she was demoted. More than 100 women working at Wal-Mart joined Ms. Dukes in the suit, which charged that advancement at Wal-Mart is controlled by an "old boys" network. They came forward to talk about how they gave their all for Wal-Mart only to see men who were their juniors and had contributed less racing up the management hierarchy. The case is the largest class-action suit in history, covering 1.6 million past and present women employees.Liza Featherstone tells their story in "Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers Rights at Wal-Mart." Wal-Mart projects an image of a family-friendly company whose workers are valued "associates." But Wal-Mart managers often justify paying men more because they must provide for a family and women less because their family responsibilities might interfere with managerial duties. Women make up more than two-thirds of Wal-Mart's workers, but only 1/3 of its managers. The firm's deep-rooted sexist culture includes meetings at Hooters restaurants, exclusively male social gatherings and persistent segregation of entire departments. Featherstone points out that even if all the discrimination ended, most Wal-Mart workers would still live in poverty with many needing food stamps and Medicaid to survive. Wal-Mart is a poster boy for labor law violations such as abusing undocumented workers, locking employees in at night, denying overtime pay and buying goods from overseas sweatshops. Because Wal-Mart is such a giant, it depresses pay and benefits for most retail workers in the U.S. Unions have yet to succeed in organizing Wal-Mart workers, whose blind loyalty may result from intimidation. Because of Wal-Mart's huge size and effect on other workers, some unions have recently proposed that the entire labor movement pool resources for an all-out organizing drive. So Liza Featherstone's new book is not just a necessary primer on one company's excesses, it is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of the labor movement. - Ken Nash

Best non-fiction read of the year, Selling Women Short is neither boring nor pedantic. It is packed with hard hitting realism dealing with the lives and stories of real hardworking women in their quest to survive and rise within Wal-Mart's anti-woman, anti-union corporate behemoth. This fascinating true story reveals how the Wal-Mart culture destructively works against poor working women while "serving" their poor workingclass communities. Against daunting and seemingly hopeless odds, most of the women Featherstone has written about have not given up. Their perseverance is inspiring. Lisa Featherstone's must-read book is inspiring. Builder Levy, NYC