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For both women and men, it is important to be able to be yourself all the time, but most specifically in the workplace.  While certain behaviors like poor language and inappropriate humor should always be left at home, a person’s personal and gender traits cannot be expected to be saved for outside the office.  This is why gender stereotypes are prevented in anti-sex or gender discrimination law.

An example of gender stereotypes can be applied to both sexes.  If a man is passed over for a job solely because he acts too feminine, this would be considered gender discrimination based on gender stereotypes.  If a woman is not given a promotion she deserves because her behavior is considered too masculine, she, too, is a victim of gender discrimination based on gender stereotypes.  Of course, this has to be provable before it can successfully go to court.

It is the belief of a lot of people that gender discrimination, especially discrimination against women, died out in the 1970s.  Women can have any job they desire, and the legislation protecting them is solid and has been upheld by the court system time and time again.  But are all employers truly supporting women better than they used to almost four decades ago, or are some of them still slipping through the cracks?

Unfortunately, some of today’s largest employers in the United States are being found guilty – or are being sued in open court – by female employees who claim they have been discriminated against.  Wal-Mart is one of these employers.  A judgment by the ninth circuit court of appeals decided in February of 2007 that the equal pay suit against Wal-Mart could be considered a class action suit representing 1.5 million female Wal-Mart employees.  This is the biggest class action suit in history, and it proves that gender discrimination is not dead.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is commonly considered the Federal Law on discrimination in the United States.  This amendment to the Civil Rights Act covers a multitude of discrimination topics, and protects Americans against racial, sex, disability, and many others forms of discrimination in the workplace.  All employers are aware of this, and work hard to conform to the law.  But what about the Pregnancy Discrimination Act?  Are employers truly aware of this act and what it protects?

Essentially, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act protects women who are pregnant, who have just given birth, or who are suffering from birth or pregnancy-related medical problems.  But there has been a huge upswing of pregnancy discrimination case, which would indicate that employers are not following the regulations of this act.  This is a problem that must be addressed, and an employee can start by knowing the ins and outs of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.