Because of Sex: One Law, Ten Cases, and Fifty Years That Changed American Women's Lives at Work

· Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Rosemary Benson
Audiobook
12 hr 16 min
Unabridged
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More
Want a 1 hr 13 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline. 
Add

About this audiobook

Best known as a monumental achievement of the civil rights movement, the 1964 Civil Rights Act also revolutionized the lives of America's working women. Title VII of the law made it illegal to discriminate "because of sex." But that simple phrase didn't mean much until ordinary women began using the law to get justice on the job-and some took their fights all the way to the Supreme Court. Among them were Ida Phillips, denied an assembly line job because she had a preschool-age child; Kim Rawlinson, who fought to become a prison guard-a "man's job"; Mechelle Vinson, who brought a lawsuit for sexual abuse before "sexual harassment" even had a name; and most recently, Peggy Young, UPS truck driver, forced to take an unpaid leave while pregnant because she asked for a temporary reprieve from heavy lifting. These unsung heroines' victories, and those of the other women profiled in Gillian Thomas's Because of Sex, dismantled a Mad Men world where women could only hope to play supporting roles; where sexual harassment was "just the way things are"; and where pregnancy meant getting a pink slip. Through first-person accounts and vivid narrative, Because of Sex tells the story of how one law, our highest court, and a few tenacious women changed the American workplace forever.

About the author

Gillian Thomas is a Senior Staff Attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's Women's Rights Project. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Atlantic, and Slate, and she has been interviewed by NPR and the Wall Street Journal. She lives in Brooklyn.

Rosemary Benson is an Audible #1 bestselling narrator, singer, educator, and stage actress. She has appeared across the US, Canada, and Italy, and regularly performs with several ensembles and big bands.

Rate this audiobook

Tell us what you think.

Listening information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.