Gender discrimination is arguably the most prevalent and newsworthy challenge that the majority of workplaces in the US have to confront. In addressing this problem, numerous legislations have been passed that counter the challenge either directly or by effect. For instance, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 criminalized in Title VII the discrimination of employees on the basis of color, religion, sex, race, and nation of origin (Ledbetter & Isom, 2012). The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) proposes the equal treatment of people without regard for the same factors applicable in the Civil Rights Act. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 makes it unlawful to discriminate against either gender in payment for equal work (Ledbetter & Isom, 2012). The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act accord employees the rights to take time off work to care for a child and bars discrimination of pregnant women respectively (Ledbetter & Isom, 2012). All the aforementioned laws apply to Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, which has had its fair share of gender discrimination lawsuits in the past.
The primary influential factor behind a company’s operations is profit. The mixed economy operates with little intervention from the government to ensure the market is as free as possible. The role of the government is to keep monopolies in check and protect employees from exploitation or discrimination (Dominique, 2001). Nonetheless, businesses emphasize utility. The ethical theory of utilitarianism in regards to Goodyear proposes that actions should be aimed at maximizing returns (Mill, 2012). The Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. case of 2007 pit Lilly Ledbetter against the company for discriminating on her on the basis of her gender. She argued that a pay disparity existed between her and her male colleagues, the least paid of whom earned close to $500 more than her (Ledbetter & Isom, 2012). The company had emphasized her inability to perform at par with her male counterparts through a series of evaluations through the course of her first three years working at the company. Goodyear’s position that her work was not equal was rightfully utilitarian because they did not find her performance to match the men; asking for equal pay was unjustified, considering the market economy on which the US runs.
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References
Dominique, C. R. (2001). Market economies and natural laws . Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Ledbetter, L., & Isom, L. S. (2012). Grace and grit: My fight for equal pay and fairness at Goodyear and beyond . Toronto, Canada: Three Rivers Press.
Mill, J. S. (2012). Utilitarianism . North Chelmsford, MA: Courier Corporation.
