The Struggle for Equal Pay, the Lament of a Female Statistician

Abstract

There are many laws, state and federal, prohibiting discrimination in employment on the basis of protected categories – race, gender, national origin, age, disability. What is not so clear is what kind of discrimination is unlawful. Is it only disparate treatment discrimination, where one is denied a benefit because of her/his protected status? Or is it also disparate impact discrimination, where a facially neutral rule or practice has a disparate impact on members of a protected class? The latter category has provided ample engagement of statisticians whose evidence the courts must decide demonstrates sufficient disparity to constitute discrimination or not, as well as demonstrating that the impactful criterion is not really necessary for the position in question. In the seminal disparate impact case, it might have been easy to show that a high school diploma was not needed to be a lineman for a power company, but what about student evaluations for a faculty position?

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Notes on contributors

Mary W. Gray

Mary Gray, who writes The Odds of Justice column, is distinguished professor of mathematics and statistics at American University in Washington, DC. Her PhD is from the University of Kansas and her JD is from the Washington College of Law at American University. A recipient of the Elizabeth Scott Award of the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies and the Karl Peace Award of the American Statistical Association, she currently teaches legal and ethical issues in data science. Her research interests include statistics and the law, economic equity, survey sampling, human rights, education, and the history of mathematics.