Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action

In the United States, Affirmative Action refers to programs, laws and social policies to "overcome the effects of" and "alleviate discrimination that limit opportunities for a variety of demographic groups in various social institutions" (www.apa.org). Affirmative Action is meant to "allocate jobs and resources to members of these specific groups, such as minorities and women" (www.infoplease.com). "Voluntary and mandatory efforts have been undertaken" in the public and private sectors. "Federal, state, and local governments; private employers; and schools combat discrimination and to promote equal opportunity in education and employment for all" (www.apa.org).

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 "prohibited both public and private sector employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, many state and local public agencies (as well as private firms with government contracts) adopted race-conscious policies such as targeted recruitment and employment goals to eliminate hiring disparities"(Goll, 2003). This should not be confused with equal employment opportunity. "Equal employment opportunity (EEO), prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. However, affirmative action "goes further by requiring employers to take steps to achieve a balanced representation of workersÐ'... it specifically outlaws discrimination in employment in all public and private sector organizations with 15 or more employees, as well as labor organizations and employment agencies" (www.apa.org).

Many people think that Affirmative action is a part of Title VII. However, it began with Executive Order 11246, wish stated that contractors under the federal government could not discriminate in its hiring, paying or promotion of employees based on race, color, religion, gender or national origin. Title VII itself prohibits discrimination towards employees but it does not require affirmative action duties on the part of the employer. The court would have to step in after it was shown that Title VII was violated to require affirmative action steps be taken. Affirmative action in both he public and private sector, no longer play a game of numbers as before with requirements. Equal employment opportunity has become the focus. There is focus on equality in every aspect of the employment process. Employment decisions and compensation is examined and monitored for its impact on men and women. (Bennet-Aleander, 2007)

"In the realm of public employment, affirmative action is becoming less and less acceptable" (www.infoplease.com). "Opponents of affirmative action have argued for decades since the inception of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that affirmative action" is basically reverse discrimination and does not focus on rewarding those who have achieved high education and merit, but rather, "rewards those individuals with positions regardless of merit and education, on the basis of race and gender" (www.apa.org). "The absence of clear cut and positive affirmative action programs make it virtually impossible for race and gender equity and representation to be achieved within most organizations. Within the public sector, affirmative action programs are greatly needed and for this to be effective, they must be promoted at the public, employee, management, and government levels." (Fowler, 1999).

In 1989, the Croson decision "struck down overly broad race based set-aside programs and those established in the absence of a history of discriminatory conduct." "Cities or state agencies that propose voluntary affirmative action plans now must conduct a disparity study. A disparity study measures the difference between the availability and the utilization of minority and women-owned businesses in a given market."(Fowler, 1999).

The word "voluntary" was used in the above referenced case. Affirmative action plans are voluntary. As a mater of fact, according to Bennett-Alexander and Hartman in Employment Law for Business, it only affects "20 percent of the workforce and does not require quotas. It simply requires that employers bring in minorities and women to a workplace if it has been determined that they have been excluded". Although it seems non-threatening enough, "affirmative action plans are often struck down as unconstitutional, and come under strict scrutiny from the courts. Affirmative action plans must now be narrowly tailored to promote a compelling state interest, and more and more, courts are finding that redressing decades of racial discrimination is not as great a compelling state interest as it once was" (www.apa.org).

Those who oppose affirmative action argue that it is just another form of discrimination and based only on collectivism. Very qualified applicants can be denied or overlooked for employment or college entrance because if their race. The majority race, Caucasian and the majority sex, men, are now at risk for reverse discrimination. "On June 23, 2003 the Supreme Court weighed in with its latest decisions on the matter". Two cases brought against the University of Michigan had the attention of even President Bush. The court upheld the school's affirmative action guideline that used race a s a factor in admissions. However, it was against a point system that that included race as a factor in undergraduate admissions (Goll, 2003).

The purpose of Affirmative action was to somehow balance the workforce and to ensure that the historically disadvantage now had an opportunity to access employment and higher education. There have been and continue to be misinterpretations of the application of Affirmative Action and it is being challenged in courts more frequently than before. In recent years however, there does seem to be a new outlook on Affirmative Action that is positive. Universities and employers in both the public and private sectors have embraced the concept of diversity instead of focusing on arguments about affirmative action. They believe that the concept of diversity does a better job of "promoting" "ideals such as community solidarity and integration" (www.infoplease.com).

Affirmative Action

In the United States, Affirmative Action refers to programs, laws and social policies to "overcome the effects of" and "alleviate discrimination that limit opportunities for a variety of demographic groups in various social institutions" (www.apa.org). Affirmative Action is meant to "allocate jobs and resources to members of these specific groups, such as minorities and women" (www.infoplease.com). "Voluntary