Featherstone, Liza.   Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Worker's Rights at Wal-Mart.   Basic Books, 2004.  

The chapter entitled "Wal-Mart Values" provides a brief and descriptive overview of Wal-Mart's employment practices and its specifically corrupt system towards female workers.   Noted within the article as NOW's fifth "Merchant of Shame," Featherstone incorporates the political affiliation of Wal-Mart with the right-wing and its detrimental implications on the workers who try to form unions.   While deconstructing the practices of Wal-Mart, Featherstone methodically points out the lack of Wal-Mart's social responsibility.   As the world's largest retailing company, Wal-Mart has been under social scrutiny, but the truth remains that sex discrimination continues to thrive at the expense of women.   Featherstone incorporates various female employees' perspectives into her article, specifically relating to the Dukes vs. Wal-Mart class action suit.   Through these stories, the article is intended not only to bring awareness of Wal-Mart's corrupt practices but also encourage a liberal feminist movement toward legal action.   This article is written for a liberal audience who is either examining Wal-Mart's practices or looking for historical and current evidence that Wal-Mart discriminates against women. - B.H.

Featherstone argues that Wal-Mart does not acknowledge its worker's rights, specifically in terms of sex discrimination, but also in unionizing. Through specific cases, Featherstone shows how women have been discriminated against by Wal-Mart, but are fighting back with lawsuits that they hope will change the way Wal-Mart is run. Featherstone also states that women need to continue working together to fight against Wal-Mart, which she argues can be done by combining the forces of female consumers and employees. The piece does not allow for other interpretations because it is more factual in nature, giving specific examples of female Wal-Mart employees. This source offers a look into the politics of sex discrimination by large corporations and could be used for its specific case examples and statistical information. -C.D.

Featherstone argues that Wal-Mart is the country's and possibly one of the world's largest employers to practice gender discrimination; from wages to management positions women are often the lowest among the ranks at Wal-Mart though their labor is what supports this global giant.   Included in this article are the stories of discrimination of only a few of the seventy-plus witnesses involved in the Dukes v. Wal-Mart class-action suit; the inclusion of their stories serves to not only locate but to give name and consequences to inequality.   In navigating the battle against injustice, Featherstone makes the distinction between punishing Wal-Mart and punishing workers; boycotting Wal-Mart is a tactic that will not work for the fact that many Wal-Mart workers are also Wal-Mart shoppers.   Featherstone, thus, makes the connection between poverty, necessity, and political action, realizing that abolishing Wal-Mart is not the solution.   This article is critical for its recognition and inclusion of working class constraints in advocating for workplace equality.   - C.P.

It's pretty safe to say that Wal-Mart is an evil giant.   This article explains several of the reasons why.   By combining the stories of several women involved in a class action discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart with some unsavory facts about the retail giant, the article exposes some of the practices that discriminate against its female employees.   Not allowing women to work in "man" sections like hardware, not promoting women to managerial positions, and not paying women livable wages are just a few of the many reasons why Wal-Mart has been listed by several organizations to be a poor employer.
            The article is interesting in way that it not only addresses the problem, but also addresses how some organizations are dealing with the problem.   Wal-Mart has been sanctioned for not allowing unionization and not complying with sweatshop regulations.   Groups like the National Organization for Women (NOW) and some pro-union groups often set of protests and boycotts of the store and try to educate the employees on how they can better their situation.   This is a great resource for anyone who is interested in globalization and its effects on women, women in the workforce, racial and gender discrimination, and poverty. - M.J.

This article aims to increase awareness of the treatment of employees, mostly women, by the Wal-Mart Corporation throughout production and sale.   Through discussion of Wal-Mart's employment trends, as well as stories provided by female employees, Featherstone uncovers Wal-Mart's sex discrimination and denial of workers rights such as the right to organize.   Women are portrayed as the social and economic martyrs of the company due to a gender-targeted lack of promotions, training, and pay.   The article aims to stir anger and the passion to induce socioeconomic change within its feminist working class readers.   For a corporation which has become such a prominent part of American consumerist culture, it is a horrific tragedy that Wal-Mart is such an oppressive force towards women and the poorer working class.   Featherstone demonstrates that as a culture of Wal-Mart consumers, American women and families not only surrender to and accept this corporation's oppressive forces, but also perpetuate such oppression by supporting and enabling Wal-Mart as a powerful retailer and employer. -B.G.

 

 

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