Volume 2, No. 1 (January, 1992) pp. 11-12
IN PURSUIT OF EQUALITY: WOMEN, PUBLIC POLICY, AND THE FEDERAL
COURTS by Susan Gluck Mezey. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992.
Reviewed by Georgia Duerst-Lahti (Beloit College).
This book succeeds in bridging the often distant gap between
legal scholars and students of public policy. For that alone it
is noteworthy. It also "traces the development of sexual
equality in federal laws since 1960" (p.5), and does so
thoroughly within the context of American federal courts. This
text deserves to find its way into a wide variety of classrooms,
and onto the shelves of scholars new to feminist perspectives on
laws pertaining to sexual equality, or policy generalists who
wish to round out the judicial area.
Mezey merges her interests in the federal judiciary as a
policy-making institution with the study of American women and
fills a notable gap by doing so. Unlike many important works
about women and the law that employ a case law approach, such as
Leslie Friedman Goldstein's THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN,
Mezey stays firmly rooted within a policy framework. Each topic
is placed within its larger context, including historical
background and a review of pertinent congressional and the
executive branch action. In addition, the story of each case is
also told, usually in much greater detail than case law
approaches afford. Such background serves as crucial material for
teaching about policy. It illustrates the circumstances driving
an issue onto the public agenda, why it went to the courts, the
manner in which courts formulated the question, as well as the
reasoning behind the decision, and subsequent implementation.
Students will likely find this approach engaging, and come away
with a more complete understanding of judicial policy. While
women and laws affecting them are the specific topic of this
work, lessons about the courts as a policy making body clearly
can also be learned. Policy scholars better versed in legislative
and executive arenas might find this a useful addition for its
illustrations of judicial policy dynamics. In many regards, the
book provides enough analysis about the dynamics of judicial
policy to make its specific subject irrelevant.
But sexual equality in federal law is indeed the topic of this
book. It provides a synopsis of the ideology of separate spheres,
sets out the development of levels of scrutiny, (including a
lucid analysis of levels of scrutiny accessible to non-law
specialists), and critiques the equal protection doctrine. Three
chapters are devoted to the formation and development of equal
employment opportunities laws. Among other topics, disparate
impact theory and contemporary conflicts about affirmative action
receive attention. Chapters are also devoted to wage
discrimination, pregnancy and employment, equality in education,
and sexual harassment. The chapter on equality in the professions
may be of particular interest to academics who can find ample
examples to draw upon. Abortion receives two chapters, one of
which traces the development of the right to choose -- including
Justice O'Connor's dissent in AKRON -- the other covers the
narrowing of choice up to and through post-Webster politics.
The publisher and Mezey should be complimented on producing a
book that is remarkably current -- as recent as October 1990. The
book also takes a general approach that draws upon a wide range
of resources, and is written in engaging and accessible language
without losing its high standards. For example, the chapter
Page 12 follows:
on the professions ends with a discussion of the 'mommy track'
that points out the nature of problems women face along with the
limits of judicial remedies. Discussion of the narrowing of
abortion options begins with the New York Times headline for the
day WEBSTER was decided, moves to a description of attendant
prochoice rallies in Washington D.C., then turns to legal
considerations. With 60 to 80 endnotes for each chapter, and a
careful blend of court cases, scholarly works, and newspaper
coverage, Mezey thoroughly documents and optimally uses resources
to analyze sexual equality policy. This work is very scholarly
without being dull.
The book is written from a feminist perspective and intends to
show intrafeminist debates about the best way to achieve
equality, end discrimination, and empower women. Throughout Mezey
tries to demonstrate "the influence of both liberal and
radical feminism in the struggle to advance women's rights"
(p.3). However, as she herself recognizes, because of liberal
feminism's heavy reliance on legal remedies, the book inevitably
is rooted in liberal feminist assumptions and so inescapably must
react to them. For example, analyses of pregnancy and employment
laws stumble over wording of preferential treatment, traditional
equality theory (as the same treatment), and equal opportunity
treatment for "episodic analyses." In an intelligent
synthesis of alternative feminist critiques, Mezey lays out the
problems with current legal remedies, but can devote only about
five of 26 pages to the critique. Also, despite endnotes that
show more sophisticated renderings, feminist thought is divided
into two only strands, liberal and radical. Advanced feminist
scholars will find little new here; however, most will probably
agree that this is among the better texts for introducing debates
about sexual equality policy.
The above shortcoming might have been ameliorated through a
longer introductory chapter and a concluding chapter. Because the
book is poised to become a reference text for policy scholars who
want to venture into the specialty of sexual equality policy, a
more extended discussion of intrafeminist debates might have been
worth the effort. Similarly, women's studies scholars who know
little about the policy process, and especially the courts as
policy makers, might have benefitted from more information about
them. For use as a text, this book's closest rival, WOMEN'S
RIGHTS IN THE U.S.A.: POLICY DEBATES & GENDER ROLES, by
Dorothy McBride Stetson opens with a discussion of the
policy-making process and the feminist debate. On the other hand,
Mezey pitches to a more advanced audience of upper-level
undergraduates, graduate students, and perhaps nonspecialist
scholars so reallocates the space to extensive, more
sophisticated endnotes and a higher level of analysis generally.
IN PURSUIT OF EQUALITY is a first-rate piece of scholarship,
written very accessibly. Though it developed out of a women and
the law course, it would be appropriate in women and politics
courses, general policy making courses, and judicial process
courses. In addition, scholars looking for a resource book that
helps them enter this area might find this to be particularly
attractive. Mezey has filled a niche at the juncture of the
literature on policy, on women, and on politics, and she has done
so skillfully.
Copyright 1992