By Steve Mayne, Editorial Intern

While researching Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich held a sales position in a Minnesota branch of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart made the news on June 19 when six female employees filed a class action suit in San Francisco, alleging that Wal-Mart and its Sam's Club stores discriminate against women in terms of training, pay, and promotions. An estimated 700,000 current and former employees could back the case if the court grants class action status.

The suit claims that while men comprise only 28% of the hourly sales workers, they represent almost 90% of the top store manager positions. And while 72% of Wal-Mart's sales employees are women, they comprise only one third of the managers. The suit seeks retribution for a number of alleged instances of discrimination, calling for an end to Wal-Mart's discriminatory actions. If granted, the class action will seek reimbursement for all legal fees and damages "sustained as a result of the defendant's conduct, including back pay, front pay, general and specific damages for lost compensation and job benefits."

Brad Seligman, executive director of The Impact Fund, a civil rights group in Berkeley, told The New York Times that Wal-Mart is "the leader in unfair treatment against women in the U.S." Betty Dukes, a plaintiff in the case, told the LA Times, "There's a great divide between the women and the men at Wal-Mart."

Bill Wertz, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, denied the allegations. A New York Times article cited him as noting that companies differ in their definition of managerial positions. For example, Wal-Mart does not refer to its store department managers as such in its official count, thereby lowering the statistical representation of female managers. Including those positions in an official count, Wertz says, raises female management numbers to nearly 50%.

Ehrenreich describes the unfavorable working conditions of several major companies, claiming that some of the Wal-Mart employees "are real-life charity cases, maybe even shelter dwellers." The nation's largest private employer, Wal-Mart has faced other discrimination charges. In June 2001, it was found guilty of violating an agreement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and fined $750,000. The issue concerned discrimination against two deaf employees.

In the last fiscal year, Wal-Mart's sales were in excess of $191 billion. It serves an estimated 100 million customers a week.