Robinson

*898 MEMORANDUM *

Plaintiff Marilyn Robinson has worked for the Bonneville Power Administration (“BPA”), a federal agency within the Department of Energy, since 1986. She was promoted to her current GS-12 level position after prevailing in a 1996 Title VII action. In 1999, Robinson applied for and was denied promotion to a GS-13 Education Coordinator position.

Robinson brought a second Title VII action, alleging that 1) she was refused promotion because of her race and color; 2) the BPA retaliated against Robinson for her previous lawsuit; and 3) the BPA established a “glass ceiling” policy that disparately impacted minority women. On July 8, 2002, the district court granted defendant BPA’s motion for summary judgment and Robinson filed a timely appeal. We affirm in part and reverse in part, and remand to the district court to proceed to trial on the merits of two of Robinson’s claims.

Summary judgment is generally inappropriate in Title VII cases where a plaintiff has established a prima facie case because intentional discrimination is an “elusive factual question.” Yarbzoff v. Thomas, 809 F.2d 1371, 1377 (9th Cir.1987) (citation omitted). However, the “mere existence of a…