American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

410 CHAPTER 13|CIVIL RIGHTS

based on gender or race under the Civil Rights Act.^46 Congress overturned this

decision and restored the old standard in January 2009 by passing the Lilly Led-

better Fa ir Pay Act. As Fig ure 13.3 shows, sig nifi cant pay disparities between men

and women remain throughout much of the United States.

Recent verdicts won by the EEOC include a $19 million settlement that Outback

Steakhouse agreed to pay in a sex discrimination and “glass ceiling” lawsuit. Thou-

sands of female employees at hundreds of restaurants alleged they were denied

equal opportunities for advancement. The EEOC has also won large settlements for

sexual harassment and pay discrimination in recent years against FedEx, Jack in

the Box, Dunkin’ Donuts, Ruby Tuesday, IHOP, and dozens of other corporations.^47

GAY RIGHTS

The Supreme Court has a similarly mixed record on gay rights. Early cases were

not supportive of gay rights. One of the fi rst concerned Georgia’s law banning

sodomy. The Supreme Court ruled in Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) that homosexual

behavior was not protected by the Constitution and that state laws banning it

could be justifi ed under the most lenient “reasonable basis” test.^48 In other cases

the Court sidestepped the controversial issue of gay rights, choosing alternative

constitutional grounds to reach its decisions.^49

Source: Alemayehu Bishaw and Jessica Semega, “Income, Earnings, and Poverty Data from the 2007 Ameri-

can Community Survey,” U.S. Census Bureau, August 2008, http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/acs-09.pdf

(accessed 11/3/12).

WOMEN’S EARNINGS AS A PERCENTAGE OF MEN’S EARNINGS,

2007

There is a substantial diff erence between women’s and men’s earnings in the United

States. What could account for this variation? How much do you think it has to do with

levels of discrimination and how much with diff erences in the nature of the jobs that

men and women hold?

FIGURE » 13.3

AK

CA

AZ

NM

TX

OK

KS

CO

UT

NV

OR

ID

WY SD

ND

NE

MN

WI MI

IN

KY

OH

WV

NC

VA

PA

NY

VT NHME

MA

RI

CT

NJ

DE

MD

DC

SC

80.0 or more

77.5 to 79.9

73.4 to 77.4

Less than 73.4

United States =

77.5 percent

Percent

IL

IA

MO

AR

LA

MS AL

TN

GA

FL

PR

MT

WA

HI