Ghirardo

MEMORANDUM **

Appellant Diane Ghirardo appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the University of Southern California (“USC”) on her state and federal claims under the state and federal Equal Pay Acts, and state and federal claims of sex discrimination and retaliation after Ghirardo filed a charge with the Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

A. Equal Pay Claims

We agree with the district court that Ghirardo failed to show that her total compensation was less than the average total compensation earned by her male colleagues who perform substantially equal work. A comparison of annual raises does not satisfy the Equal Pay Act inquiry, which compares “wages,” defined to include “all payments” made to the employee “as remuneration for employment,” and “all forms of compensation.” 29 C.F.R. § 1620.10 , see also Hein v. Oregon Coll. of Educ., 718 F.2d 910, 916 (9th Cir.1983).

B. Retaliation

Likewise, we agree with the district court that Ghirardo failed to make a prima facie case of retaliation because she did not establish the necessary causal link between Ghirardo’s…

Concurrence by

FLETCHER, Judge.

I concur in the majority’s opinion but write separately to express my concern that more than forty years after Congress passed Title VII, the entrenchment of the white male elite remains an intractable problem in many parts of academia. The architecture faculty at USC is not exempt from this problem. There is no doubt that Professor Ghirardo was a crusader for sexual and racial integration in the School of Architecture. The continued success of Professors Dimster and Steele, who reportedly harassed female students and students of color, in the face of chronically low numbers of women on the faculty, rightfully disturbed Professor Ghirardo. One cannot help but be suspicious of the low ratings she received from the faculty committee that influenced compensation adjustments when from all appearances she was a widely recognized academic star.

Unfortunately, Professor Ghirardo did not at all times advance her cause appropriately. Her lack of balance and judgment, though caused no doubt by the Dean and the faculty’s seeming insensitivity to an important problem, provided justification for the School’s actions. In the end, her lack of cooperation,…