Harassment and Discrimination “Because of Sex”

Sex discrimination was not initially included in Title VII, which focused on race, national origin, and religion (an opponent of the bill added sex discrimination to an amendment in a bid to defeat Title VII). But over time, sex discrimination became a core feature of Title VII jurisprudence. But it often proved surprisingly difficult to determine when discrimination was "because of sex." We will study the rise of theories centered on stereotypes about sex and sexual harassment and explore how those theories did and not provide relief to LGBTQI workers. We will also consider how courts police the exclusion of individual workers and address whether sex, properly ever understood, is a legitimate reason to exclude an entire group of employees.