It Happened To Me: Unequal Pay

On September 8, 1987, a female assistant professor sued the college in Maryland where she worked, because she felt she was being paid less because she was a woman. She brought this case because a man who received his doctorate degree after her was hired as a full time professor while she was still an associate professor. The female employee sued under Maryland's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act.

On July 8, 1992 the lower court heard the case and decided that the female professor was not being discriminated against. Even though she did not win her case, she decided to appeal, and on June 4, 1993 the Maryland Court of Special Appeals heard the case. Even though she did not win the case, the court was able to explain the law and make it clearer for future women bringing claims. These are the main reasons she did not win the case:

The Maryland Equal Pay Act requires that people get paid the same for doing work of "comparable character or comparable skill." The court felt that an assistant professor and a full-time professor were very different positions that required different skills and efforts.

It is legal to pay individuals differently as long as it is not on the basis of sex. The court felt that the college was not in violation of the Maryland Equal Pay Act because it was not looking at whether a professor was male or female, but how qualified they were. The college explained that, while the female associate professor had the doctorate degree requirement, the male professor was hired as a full-time professor because he was qualified to teach in two departments while the female professor was qualified to teach in only one. The male professor was also involved in coordinating research grants and had been publishing his own writings. The female professor had no involvement in either activity.

The court felt that the college looking into an applicant's involvement with the school and evaluating them on what they publish was a legitimate way to decide whether or not to pay them more and promote them. In addition, the fact that the college judged professors on that topic was explained in the faculty handbook so all professors knew about it.

For those reasons, the court decided that the male professor's promotion and being paid more was justifiable. The college made the decision based on its merit system, not on the sole basis that the professor was male or female.