Question: Would these women have had a claim under Title VII?
Answer: Yes, they could make a claim due to disparate impact.
NASA's decision to change the requirements for astronauts to include jet fighter experience effectively excluded women from serving as astronauts. This decision highlights the issue of disparate impact, where a seemingly neutral policy has a disproportionate impact on a particular group or category of individuals. In this case, the jet fighter experience requirement indirectly prevented women from qualifying for space duty.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It covers both intentional discrimination (disparate treatment) and policies or practices that have a disproportionate impact on a protected group (disparate impact).
Disparate Impact
Disparate impact occurs when an employment practice appears neutral on its face but has a disproportionate effect on a protected group. In the case of NASA's astronaut training program, the requirement for jet fighter experience indirectly excluded women from becoming astronauts.
Claim under Title VII
Under Title VII, individuals who have been subjected to employment practices that have a disparate impact on a protected group can file a claim of discrimination. In the case of the women who were admitted to NASA's astronaut training program but were unable to qualify for space duty due to the jet fighter experience requirement, they could potentially make a claim under Title VII.
NASA's Indirect Prohibition
While NASA did not directly bar female candidates from the astronaut program, the requirement for jet fighter experience had the effect of excluding women since they were not eligible to fly jet fighters at that time. This indirect prohibition could be considered a form of disparate impact discrimination under Title VII.
In conclusion, the women who were admitted to NASA's astronaut training program but were unable to become astronauts due to the jet fighter experience requirement could potentially have a claim under Title VII based on the principle of disparate impact. By indirectly excluding women from qualifying for space duty, NASA's policy had a discriminatory impact on female candidates in the program.