Papers of Rosalind Rosenberg, 1979-1987

In 1979 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit against Sears, Roebuck and Company for employment practice violations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964). Sears was charged with "a pattern and practice" of sex discrimination in two areas: discrimination in the hiring and promotion of women in commission sales jobs, and discrimination in pay in management positions. The plaintiff's case was based on a statistical analysis of the Sears workforce by EEOC statistician Bernard Siskin (see 88v-91v), which claimed to demonstrate disparities between men and women in pay and in commission sales jobs. There were no individual women complainants.

The trial was held in Chicago, Illinois from September 1984 to July 1985; Judge Nordberg decided in favor of Sears in January 1986. Both sides sought to strengthen their case by including historians as expert witnesses. Sears called Rosalind Rosenberg, associate professor of history at Barnard College; the EEOC called Alice Kessler-Harris, professor of history at Hofstra University. Rosenberg argued that historically men and women have had different interests, goals, and aspirations regarding work, and that women's own attitudes made them reluctant to take risky jobs in commission sales. Therefore, she concluded, historical forces other than employer discrimination were responsible for the statistical disparities seen in the Sears data. Kessler-Harris argued that women historically have made the most of any economic climate, taking whatever jobs have been offered. Women's choice of work can be understood only within the framework of available opportunities. Kessler-Harris concluded that Sears had not done enough to counter cultural forces and to open opportunity equally to women.

The Sears case caused a storm of argument among historians of women and feminists. Letters received by Rosenberg and articles collected by her, 1985-1987, contested her historical interpretation of women's attitudes to work, and raised the philosophical issue of the role of scholars and feminists in offering their expertise to parties in lawsuits. Rosalind Rosenberg faced heavy criticism from feminists and historians alike.