Gender and the Tournament: Reinventing Antidiscrimination Law in an Age of Inequality

Abstract

Since the 1970’s, antidiscrimination advocates have approached Title VII as though the impact of the law on minorities and women could be considered in isolation. This article argues that this is a mistake. Instead, Reinventing Antidiscrimination Law attempts to reclaim Title VII’s original approach, which justified efforts to dismantle segregated workplaces as necessary to both eliminate discrimination and promote economic growth. Using that approach, this Article is the first to consider how widespread corporate tournaments and growing gender disparities in the upper echelons of the economy are intrinsically intertwined, and how they undermine the core promises of antidiscrimination law. The Article draws on a pending case challenging the “rank and yank” evaluation system at Microsoft, as well as social science literature regarding narcissism and stereotype expectations, to illustrate how consideration of the legitimacy of competitive pay for performance schemes is essential to combating the intrinsically gendered nature of advancement in the new economy.

Keywords: Discrimination, antidiscrimination, Title VII, segregation, workplace, gender, minorities, women, disparities, inequities, globalization, employment, competition, stereotypes, Microsoft

JEL Classification: J15; J16; J21; J31; J33; J38; J71; K13; K31; K41