Today is the release of the DVD of Made in Dagenham. Why people didn’t go to see this film when it was released last fall I will never understand. It was good, fun and about something important — the fight for equal pay.

When the film was released the Paycheck Fairness Act was before Congress. Today, as the DVD gets released the Supreme Court will hear the class action lawsuit, Wal-Mart v. Dukes which is the case of six women who sued Wal-Mart for equal pay. Bottom line — they just want to be paid the same as men for the same work and to get opportunities for promotion.

Here are some of the things the women are fighting against:

The problem, of course, is that the Dukes plaintiffs contend that Wal-Mart’s “culture” discriminates against women. Holding management meetings at Hooters and strip clubs, referring to female employees as “Janie Q’s” and regarding women in retail as “housewives who just need to earn extra money” rather than as potential managers are precisely the cultural practices that Dukes and her fellow class representatives challenge.

This is a very important worker’s rights lawsuit and you can see how far we have come and how far we still have to go by watching the DVD of Made in Dagenham which is based on a true story. The DVD has commentary with director Nigel Cole, deleted scenes, outtakes and a making of featurette.

The Showdown Between Women and Wal-Mart (The Root)