Beyond Comparison Sex and Discrimination

Timothy Macklem argues that the heart of discrimination lies not in unfavorable comparisons with the treatment and opportunities that men enjoy, but rather, in a denial of resources and opportunities that women need to lead successful and meaningful lives. This work promises to be a milestone in the debate about gender equality and will interest students and professionals concerned with legal theory and gender studies.

In Beyond Comparison: Sex and Discrimination Timothy Macklem addresses foundational issues in the long-running debate in legal, political and social theory about the nature of gender discrimination. He takes the highly original and controversial view that the heart of discrimination lies not in the unfavorable comparisons with the treatment and opportunities that men enjoy but rather in a denial of resources and opportunities that women need to lead successful and meaningful lives as women. Therefore, to understand what women need we must first understand what it is to be a woman. By displaying an impressive command of the feminist literature as well as intellectual rigor, this work promises to be a milestone in the debate about gender equality and will interest students and professionals in the areas of legal theory and gender studies.

1. The issues; 2. Equality; 3. Difference; 4. Reasons for feminism; 5. The value of diversity; 6. The character of disadvantage; 7. The role of sexual identity in a successful life; 8. Equality, difference and the law.

This study of discrimination focuses not on differences between men and women but on what women need to lead successful lives. This work promises to be a milestone in the debate about gender equality and will interest students and professionals in the areas of legal theory and gender studies.