Skip to main content

Wage Justice

Comparable Worth and the Paradox of Technocratic Reform

"This pathbreaking study sets forth the history of attempts to implement pay equity and evaluates the hidden costs of achieving equity. With candor and intelligence, the authors clearly detail the political, organizational, and personal consequences of comparable worth reform strategies. Using extensive data from Minnesota, where pay equity has proceeded further than in any other state in the nation, as well as comparative information from other states and localities, the authors expose the crucial initial steps which define public policy.

"A perceptive and judicious analysis of comparable worth."—Wendy Kaminer, New York Times Book Review

"Very well-crafted. . . . Wage Justice has admirably launched the scholarly evaluation of pay equity, revealing the unforeseen complexities of this key feminist public policy innovation."—Maurine Weiner Greenwald, Journal of American History

"An insightful glimpse of the policy process."—Marian Lief Palley, American Political Science Review

238 pages | 5 figures, 21 tables, 3 maps | 5-7/8 x 9 | © 1991

Women in Culture and Society

History: American History

Women's Studies

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Catharine R. Stimpson
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. The Historical Legacy: Women, Labor, and Politics
3. What Is at Stake?
4. Feminists, Union Leaders, and Democrats: The Passage of Comparable Worth Laws
5. Textbook Implementation: Comparable Worth for State Employees
6. Paradoxes and Unintended Consequences: Implementation of Comparable Worth in Local Jurisdictions
7. Conclusion
Appendix A. Comparable Worth Interviews and Presentations
Appendix B. State Comparable Worth Activities and Characteristics
Appendix C. Survey Design
Notes
Index

Awards

Policy Studies Organization/APSA: APSA/Policy Studies Organization Book Award
Won

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press