STAFF EDIT: Wal-Mart poised to win big

Monolith corporation Wal-Mart is no easy target. With a net worth of more than $400 billion, its owners can go up against anyone in court with some of the most prestigious lawyers at their side.

About 10 years ago, six women in California decided to take the company to court, an act that turned heads. After claiming she was denied the opportunity to compete for a promotion, lead plaintiff and employee Betty Dukes filed a sex discrimination claim against Wal-Mart. On Tuesday, a crowd of protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court to show support for Dukes and 100 of her fellow plaintiffs, as the court justices presided over a preliminary hearing.

The lawsuit has grown into the largest sex discrimination case in history. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Dukes, 1.5 million female Wal-Mart workers will be affected. But siding with Dukes would require a sociological understanding of Wal-Mart and possibly assumptions about gender nuances in 8,500 separate stores.

Wal-Mart deserves repercussions for many of its policies. It doesn’t allow its employees to form unions and has a monopoly over local communities and businesses. One court justice said managers are given too much leeway in deciding how employees are hired. Having amassed more economic power than any other retail establishment, Wal-Mart has brought employer-empyee relations to a breaking point: the little man has less breathing room than ever before.

Unfortunately, courts are likely to rule in favor of Wal-Mart for that precise reason. Any well-running, influential institution can come up with the statistics to prove their case and usually has enough protection to thwart attackers. Dukes’ team is arguing that Wal-Mart is systematically discriminating against female employees, which means there has to be proof of intent. Wal-Mart ambassadors aren’t naïve enough to leave a loophole that big.

Luckily for Dukes, however, this case will further solidify the importance of ensuring women’s rights in the workplace and reach beyond Wal-Mart. If the case details weren’t so convoluted, she’d be a shoo-in. But capitalism dictates a clear winner. If nothing else, it’s only fair that these slighted women have the opportunity to present their case.