NOW Blasts Wal-Mart Workplace Abuses,
Names the Company a Merchant of Shame

June 22, 2002

"Today the National Organization for Women is naming Wal-Mart — the nation's largest company with close to one million employees — a Merchant of Shame," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "Wal-Mart faces numerous allegations of sex discrimination in pay, promotion and compensation; of wage abuses, violation of child labor laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act; exclusion of contraceptive coverage in employee insurance plans and discrimination on the basic of sexual orientation. The list of Wal-Mart's workplace 'don'ts' is far too long."

"Wal-Mart is number one on the Fortune 500 list. It's also the number one most sued retailer in the United States," Gandy said. "It doesn't take a genius to see the problem with this picture. The nation's number one company should be a model workplace not the worst of bad examples."

"I could say that NOW is dissatisfied with the way Wal-Mart conducts business with their employees, but that would be a huge understatement," Gandy. "This country's top employers need to get the picture that women-friendly workplaces aren't just good businesses, they're good for business. You'd think that Wal-Mart management would get this."

"NOW's Merchants of Shame are an important part of the Women-Friendly Workplace Campaign--a pro-active project demanding equal rights for women on the job," Gandy said. "NOW's campaign spurred Smith Barney, Mitsubishi Motors and other leading corporations to work toward creating truly women-friendly and family-friendly workplaces."

"We're shining a spotlight on Wal-Mart's workplaces abuses," Gandy said. "This is a public pressure campaign against one of the largest employers in the U.S. This is how we effect change. The women and men of Wal-Mart deserve a workplace that respects their rights. Consumers across the country need to be able to spend their dollars with a clear conscience. Wal-Mart doesn't afford us this option."

"Wal-Mart is NOW's fifth Merchant of Shame," Gandy said. "Perhaps they'll look at this as a grand opportunity to do the right thing."

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