For example, affirmative action was a necessary part of the effort towards equality because many employers were simply unwilling to give woman an equal chance at job opportunities. However, many areas of overt gender discrimination have been cured, or cannot be cured by quotas because of a lack of opposite-gender interest in the jobs in question. Just because laws cannot completely cure discrimination does not mean that discrimination is inevitable or unconquerable. Anti-discrimination legislation handled the burden of the most egregious forms of discrimination and continues to protect people's rights to employment opportunities. However, society as a whole bears a burden in the fight against discrimination. By refusing to patronize businesses that discriminate on the basis of sex, society can use the power of the market to influence and eliminate gender bias, in a way that laws could not.

As long as society keeps its current views on gender roles, it is likely that gender discrimination will continue. However, laws have been developed that protect people from discrimination without requiring one to ignore biologically-based sex differences. Federal laws and their ancillary programs, like affirmative action, have helped eliminate...

However, it is now up to society to fulfill the promise of those laws and use the force of the market to bring about true gender equality in the workplace.
41 C.F.R. 60-3.11.

International Union, UAW v. Johnson Controls, Inc., 111 S. Ct. 1196 (1991).

Hr-guide.com. (2001). HR guide to the internet: EEO disparate impact. Retrieved April 20, 2007 from Hr- guide.com. Website: http://www.hr-guide.com/data/G702.htm

Personnel Administrator of Massachusetts v. Feeney, 442 U.S. 256 (1979).

Bartlett, K. (1993). Sexual authenticity as a BFOQ. In K. Bartlett (Ed.), Gender and law: theory, doctrine, and commentary (pp. 194-195). Boston: Little, Brown & Company.

Fair Measures. (2007). Hooters wins in EEOC settlement. Retrieved April 20, 2007 from FairMeasures.com.

Website: http://fairmeasures.com/ask/enews/archive/fall97/new05.asp

Wilson v. Southwest Airlines Co., 517 F. Supp. 292, (N.D. Tex. 1981).

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Filing a charge of employment discrimination. Retrieved April 20, 2007 from EEOC.gov. Website: http://www.eeoc.gov/charge/overview_charge_filing.html