Readings
Wal-Mart's legal troubles are the stuff of corporate legend -- one attorney estimates the chain is sued at least twice a day in U.S. federal court alone. Now comes Wal-Mart's biggest court challenge to date: a class-action lawsuit, filed on behalf of 1.6 million female employees, accusing the company of widespread sexual discrimination. In Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers' Rights at Wal-Mart, due out in November, freelance reporter Liza Featherstone tracks down the women behind the milestone case, describing in wrenching detail the indignities each alleges she suffered at the hands of male managers. It is a corporate culture, Featherstone writes, that condoned everything from staff meetings at Hooters to the routine promotion of men over more experienced women. Featherstone is clearly no fan of America's largest retailer, but her rigorous reporting on the stories behind the lawsuit makes the book a must-read for Wal-Mart's friends and foes.
-- Michael Barbaro