Navigating the New Subtleties of Sex-Discrimination Cases in Academe

By PAMELA HAAG

When Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination by sex or race in employment 40 years ago, the law's focus was on African-Americans and blue-collar workers. Sex discrimination was a strategic afterthought to race discrimination, and legislators were envisioning protections for factory workers more than for professionals like lawyers, doctors, and managers, who are hired, fired, and promoted according to very subjective criteria. Nonetheless, thousands of professionals have