abstract: 'Bringing sociological theory and research to bear on the ``quota

  debates{''''} dogging discussion of federal civil rights legislation in

  the early 1990s, this article highlights sociology''s role in shaping

  employment law and shows how apparently technical legal arguments about

  allocating burdens of proof affect labor market resource allocation

  among the classes, races, and genders. Contrasting

  institutional-sociological with liberal-legal concepts of

  discrimination, the article shows why disparate impact theory has been

  the most sociological approach to Title VII enforcement. It also shows

  how disparate impact-a theory and method for establishing legally

  cognizable employment discrimination injurious to women and

  minorities-is, and is not, related to affirmative action-a policy

  encompassing a broad range of procedures intended to provide positive

  consideration to members of groups discriminated against in the past.

  Finally, a competing incentive framework is used to show that, although

  disparate impact creates some incentives for employers to adopt quota

  hiring, such incentives are counter-balanced by major incentives working

  against race- and gender-based quotas. Major counterincentives stem from

  disparate impact itself, from other aspects of equal employment law, and

  from organizational goals shaping business response to the legal

  environment.'
affiliation: 'Stryker, R (Corresponding Author), Univ Minnesota, Dept Sociol, 909
  Social Sci Bldg,267 19th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA.

  Univ Minnesota, Dept Sociol, Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA.'
author: Stryker, R
author_list:
- family: Stryker
  given: R
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1525/tsq.2001.42.1.13
files: []
issn: 0038-0253
journal: SOCIOLOGICAL QUARTERLY
keywords-plus: 'AFFIRMATIVE-ACTION; CIVIL-RIGHTS; SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION; TITLE-VII;

  DISCRIMINATION; ANTIDISCRIMINATION; WORKPLACE; TRANSFORMATION;

  SEGREGATION; OPPORTUNITY'
language: English
month: WIN
note: 'Annual Meeting of the American-Sociological-Association, NEW YORK, NEW

  YORK, AUG 16-20, 1996'
number: '1'
number-of-cited-references: '111'
pages: 13-46
papis_id: 923fea72dbc8f338792f3bf9757b14dd
ref: Stryker2001disparateimpact
times-cited: '28'
title: 'Disparate impact and the quota debates: Law, labor market sociology, and equal
  employment policies'
type: Article; Proceedings Paper
unique-id: WOS:000167192600002
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '20'
volume: '42'
web-of-science-categories: Sociology
year: '2001'