Beyond dispute: EEOC v. Sears and the politics of gender, class, and affirmative action, 1968-1986

In 1973 the federal government began investigating Sears, Roebuck & Co. for discrimination against women employees because, among other things, its commissioned sales force was predominantly male. At trial, Sears argued that women were not interested in commissioned positions because they were too demanding. The decision, which found Sears not liable for discrimination, sparked a great deal of debate among feminists and in the media over the expert witness testimony of two women's historians. Employing oral histories, organizational records, court documents, and media accounts I use the case as a lens through which to view broader historical issues regarding women and work, social class, and national political changes during the 1970s and 1980s. I give a detailed social history of the case, focusing on the players and events that affected the outcome, and a legal-political history of the time period as reflected through developments in the case. This dissertation recovers cross-class organizing at the beginning of a case known only for its divisiveness. It examines dynamics within second-wave feminism, including the implications of a shift in focus to the Equal Rights Amendment, the role of the equality/difference dilemma, and whether the loss in court to Sears was merely a defeat. The company's corporate personality foreshadowed the lengths to which it would go to fight the EEOC. I also reveal a significant amount of resistance within the first Reagan administration to changes in civil rights policy and show that the case continued with strong support despite ambivalence on the part of the government. The long litigation process ensured a case that looked very different from its beginnings. The feminist debate surrounding the trial highlights the end of a much longer story and distracts attention from critical issues. I argue for de-centering this feminist dispute, and remembering the case instead for what it can tell us about debates over affirmative action, attempts by women activists alternatively to work within and challenge national policy, the limits of the law and second-wave feminism for improving the lives of working women, and the reasons why the workplace revolution for women stalled and remains so today.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 394-403)by Emily Beth Zuckerma