Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is the term used for the political policies that take “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” into consideration for benefiting underrepresented groups in areas of employment, education, and business (Fullinwinder). Websters says “the practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of members of groups that have not been treated fairly in the past because of their race, sex, etc.” It is known as positive discrimination in the United Kingdom. Affirmative action was implemented in the United States in 1960 (and revised in 1967 to include gender) as a way to combat racial discrimination in the workplace.
Not everyone is for affirmative action. “Affirmative action is one of the most effective tools for redressing the injustices caused by our nation's historic discrimination against people of color and women, and for leveling what has long been an uneven playing field. A centuries-long legacy of racism and sexism has not been eradicated despite the gains made during the civil rights era. Avenues of opportunity for those previously excluded remain far too narrow. We need affirmative action now more than ever.” According to 1998 U.S. Department of Labor statistics, blacks are almost twice as likely as whites to be unemployed. The unemployment rate is also higher for Latinos than for whites. Blacks and Latinos generally earn far less than whites. In 2000, the median weekly earning for blacks was $459; for Latinos, it was $395. In that period, average income for whites was $590. Workers of color are still concentrated in the less well-paying, unskilled sector. In 1993, black and Latino men were half as likely as whites to be employed as managers or professionals and much more likely to be employed as machine operators and laborers. Barriers to equality also remain for women. Affirmative action (known as positive discrimination in the United Kingdom) is a policy where members of minority groups are given preference over members of more common or bigger groups. This is usually done to try to obtain some equality or balance. Positive discrimination is illegal in many countries. It is most often found in education, employment and welfare.
Several different studies investigated the effect of affirmative action on women. Kurtulus in her review of affirmative action and the occupational advancement of minorities and women during 1973-2003 showed that the effect of affirmative action on advancing black, Hispanic, and white women into management, professional, and technical occupations occurred primarily during the 1970s and early 1980s. During this period, contractors grew their shares of these groups more rapidly than noncontractors because of the implementation of affirmative action. But the positive effect of affirmative action vanished entirely in late 1980s, which may be due to the slowdown into advanced occupation for women and minorities because of the political shift of affirmative action that started by President Regan. Becoming a federal contractor increased white women’s share of professional occupations by 0.183 percentage points, or 7.3 percent, on average during these three decades, and increased black women’s share by 0.052 percentage points (or by 3.9 percent). Becoming a federal contractor also increased Hispanic women’s and black men’s share of technical occupations on average by 0.058 percent and 0.109 percentage points respectively (or by 7.7 and 4.2 percent). These represent a substantial contribution of affirmative action to overall trends in the occupational advancement of women and minorities over the three decades under the study.
When affirmative action was first introduced, it’s intentions were good. The program was designed to provide opportunities for all people, regardless of other factors. Unfortunately, even positive discrimination is still discrimination. While providing opportunities, the program forces us to look at the very things it was meant to protect against. Websters defines discrimination as “the process by which two stimuli differing in some aspect are responded to differently” The definition of discrimination clearly falls within the goals of affirmative action.
Not everyone is for affirmative action. “Affirmative action is one of the most effective tools for redressing the injustices caused by our nation's historic discrimination against people of color and women, and for leveling what has long been an uneven playing field. A centuries-long legacy of racism and sexism has not been eradicated despite the gains made during the civil rights era. Avenues of opportunity for those previously excluded remain far too narrow. We need affirmative action now more than ever.” According to 1998 U.S. Department of Labor statistics, blacks are almost twice as likely as whites to be unemployed. The unemployment rate is also higher for Latinos than for whites. Blacks and Latinos generally earn far less than whites. In 2000, the median weekly earning for blacks was $459; for Latinos, it was $395. In that period, average income for whites was $590. Workers of color are still concentrated in the less well-paying, unskilled sector. In 1993, black and Latino men were half as likely as whites to be employed as managers or professionals and much more likely to be employed as machine operators and laborers. Barriers to equality also remain for women. Affirmative action (known as positive discrimination in the United Kingdom) is a policy where members of minority groups are given preference over members of more common or bigger groups. This is usually done to try to obtain some equality or balance. Positive discrimination is illegal in many countries. It is most often found in education, employment and welfare.
Several different studies investigated the effect of affirmative action on women. Kurtulus in her review of affirmative action and the occupational advancement of minorities and women during 1973-2003 showed that the effect of affirmative action on advancing black, Hispanic, and white women into management, professional, and technical occupations occurred primarily during the 1970s and early 1980s. During this period, contractors grew their shares of these groups more rapidly than noncontractors because of the implementation of affirmative action. But the positive effect of affirmative action vanished entirely in late 1980s, which may be due to the slowdown into advanced occupation for women and minorities because of the political shift of affirmative action that started by President Regan. Becoming a federal contractor increased white women’s share of professional occupations by 0.183 percentage points, or 7.3 percent, on average during these three decades, and increased black women’s share by 0.052 percentage points (or by 3.9 percent). Becoming a federal contractor also increased Hispanic women’s and black men’s share of technical occupations on average by 0.058 percent and 0.109 percentage points respectively (or by 7.7 and 4.2 percent). These represent a substantial contribution of affirmative action to overall trends in the occupational advancement of women and minorities over the three decades under the study.
When affirmative action was first introduced, it’s intentions were good. The program was designed to provide opportunities for all people, regardless of other factors. Unfortunately, even positive discrimination is still discrimination. While providing opportunities, the program forces us to look at the very things it was meant to protect against. Websters defines discrimination as “the process by which two stimuli differing in some aspect are responded to differently” The definition of discrimination clearly falls within the goals of affirmative action.