Ask a Lawyer - Archive

I am a teacher that has recently trained and licensed to become a campus administrator. This past summer my principal informed me that there would be a position open and that I should interview. He (my principal) also told my husband (who works in the same school) that he should start "seeking a position elsewhere," since as his spouse I could not be his direct supervisor. This led me (and my husband) to believe that my principal was going to promote me to assistant principal.

After the interview, I learned that he decided to hire a man for the position. There were six interviewees (including me), and only one of them was a man.

During a sit-down with my principal after the interview, he told me of another assistant principal opening at a high school but he was angry that the high school principal "only interviewed women for the position."

I then later learned that the interview committee that sat in on my interview all recommended me for the position at my school, but that my principal persuaded them to consider the man because he felt the man was more qualified for the position - he has less experience than me.

Do I have a case for sexism in the workplace?

You could possibly have a claim of gender discrimination in the workplace.

If you feel that you can establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the only reason you were not chosen for the job was that you are female, you may have a case. The same concept can be applied to other legally defined areas of discrimination such as race, age, national origin, religion and disability. According to your summary, there are several indicators that gender played a key role in the principal's decision, but many more details would need to be examined before the validity of your claim was assessed. If you feel that you were overlooked due to your gender, do consult with an attorney to explore the possibility of pursuing a claim of discrimination.