If not for a class-action lawsuit, many of the women who maintain Wal-Mart treated them unfairly will never get their day in court.

On Tuesday the Supreme Court appeared divided as it heard arguments and asked questions in a case that alleges the country's largest retailer and biggest employer paid female workers less than their male counterparts and offered fewer opportunities for promotion. The high court's decision will determine if the women - possibly as many as 1.5 million of them - can make their claim in a single, class-action lawsuit.

The Supreme Court will likely announce in June its decision in Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes. The plaintiffs appear to face an uphill battle, given the comments by some of the conservative justices on Tuesday.

Denying the chance to bring a class-action suit will in effect kill the case. The women who believe Wal-Mart discriminated against them do not have the ability or means to bring individual lawsuits. This pro-business court, which just 14 months ago lifted limits on corporate and labor union spending in campaigns for president and Congress, appears reluctant to empower Wal-Mart workers in their effort to take on the corporate giant.

The plaintiffs argue that Wal-Mart culture was "rife with gender stereotypes" - some stores held staff meetings at Hooters restaurants - and they have sworn statements and statistics to back up their claims.

Wal-Mart denies the charge and maintains it has a strict anti-discrimination policy. And it argues that the class action is unwarranted, given that the alleged victims worked in 3,400 stores and 170 job classifications.

That shouldn't matter, given that the plaintiffs all make similar claims against a single, corporate defendant. The U.S. District Court in San Francisco granted the class status in 2004, and later the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals there voted to allow the class action to proceed. The Supreme Court should do likewise.

The plaintiffs deserve the chance to make their case.