Affirmative Action : Discrimination Against Women, Minorities, And Those With Disabilities

There are many supporters and opponents of Affirmative Action. The focus of Affirmative action is meant to be an attempt at equality throughout society. Every sector in America would be equal and unprejudiced. On the other hand, adopting affirmative action would force many employers to replace hard-working employees with those possibly less qualified simply due to their gender or ethnicity. Throughout history, people have been categorized into different groups. These groupings were based on certain characteristics people shared, whether it was their ethnicity, race, gender, or religion. Society is notorious for distinguishing among different groups and favoring one or two of them. Undoubtedly, this separation of peoples, led to increased tension between various groups. As time progressed, the conflicts intensified, and it became apparent that a change was necessary. So I intend to educate the reader on the origin of Affirmative Action; how it impacted the American society; is it still needed in today’s environment; what are some of the drawbacks or issues that came from implementing Affirmative Action, and finally what is the most beneficial aspect from Affirmative Action. One of the most famous quotes about Affirmative Action comes from President Lyndon Johnson who explained the rationale behind the use of affirmative action to achieve equal opportunity in a 1965 speech: “You do not take a person, who for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring

Affirmative Action is one of the many social issues facing America today. Affirmative action was signed into place in 1961 by President Kennedy and allows minority groups or people who face discrimination to become employed or get an education that is equal to that of a white male. Groups that Affirmative Action aims to help are women, blacks, Latinos, and people with disabilities. While these policies were signed to slowly rid the workforce and schools from discrimination, it hurts people who do not face discrimination, specifically whites. Many white men and women lose special opportunities to work or go to college because of certain standards that the Affirmative Action laws require. Universities and the military require a certain number of minorities in order to meet the standards and have a more diverse atmosphere. An example of this is the California V. Bakke supreme court case of 1978.

Affirmative action legislation in the United States has its basic framework in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which mandates that firms with more than 15 employees are subject to a variety of anti-discrimination policies, more of which were passed in subsequent years. In some cases, the concept of affirmative action was taken to be a voluntary act to attain diversity. For the most part, however, courts have interpreted affirmative action laws as having little teeth under the Constitution. It has been suggested that "racial preferences in federal law or policy are a remedy of last resort" (Dale, 2005)

The Affirmative Action Act was created to ensure that minority groups and women were given the same opportunities in education and employment that were traditionally afforded to white males. According to the National Conferences of State Legislatures, affirmative action is, “…an outcome of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement, intended to provide equal opportunities for members of minority groups and women in education and employment. In 1961, President Kennedy was the first to use the term "affirmative action" in an Executive Order that directed government contractors to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." The Executive Order also established the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, now known as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)” (NCLS, 2014). Affirmative action was further reinforced in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson when he signed an executive order requiring government contractors to increase the number of minorities that are offered employment.

Today affirmative action and other racial injustices tend to be in the spotlight quite often, such as in “Fisher v University of Texas at Austin” case which highlighted that many highly qualified white prospective students are passed over for less qualified minority students to attempt to make the university more diverse using the affirmative action initiative (“Voices: Affirmative Action”). Affirmative action or positive discrimination is a policy in which those who have been discriminated on in the past or who tend to be discriminated on presently are favored, usually in relation to education or jobs. It was introduced by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to attempt to reduce the discrimination still continuing despite the civil rights movements. Later it was further developed and enforced by President Lyndon B. Johnson. A professor of English at San Jose University, Shelby Steele, an African American man, spoke of his views of the negative impacts of affirmative action in his book, “The Content of Our Character: A New Vision of Race in America.” In Steele’s book he discredits

Affirmative Action is an outcome of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. Its purpose is to provide equal opportunities for members of minority groups and women in education and employment. It is not until 1961 did the term “affirmative action” was first used by President John F. Kennedy. He made it very clear in an Executive Order that directed government have to take “affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.” Since a lot of cooperation still tends to hire white male, by enforcing affirmative action, the number of minority groups and women in the labor force will increase.Affirmative Action helps to eliminate the imbalance in the society and reform the American system. The US Department of Labor describes affirmative action as the banning of discrimination.

Affirmative Action has been around for many decades from around the 1940s. Although it has not always been called affirmative action, the official title was not introduced until the 1960s. Back then affirmative action was more known as segregation or discrimination in the workplace or there lack of. The women and people of color were the targets of discrimination, which several presidents tried to correct for equality.

Affirmative Action was first enacted in the United States in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, with the passage of the Civil Rights Act. It was intended to make hiring and university admittance practices fair, and it also required them to be made without regard to race, religion, and national origin. The law was intended for all groups to have an equal opportunity for employment and higher education, and it required that affirmative action be taken to ensure certain groups were employed or admitted. Gender was later added to the list of factors that could not be used to discriminate against a person. Affirmative Action was needed in America at the time because of the country’s history of discrimination against certain groups, particularly African Americans.

     The subject of affirmative action in college admissions has been hotly debated since its inception. Although affirmative action was originally supported by the vast majority, that same majority is now starting to wonder if there is a better way. Commonly asked questions include: “Is affirmative action still working?” and “Is there an alternative?” The answers to each of these questions will provide insurmountable evidence that affirmative action in college admissions no longer fulfills its intended purpose and that the only viable alternative is to focus more attention on primary schooling for the underprivileged.

Affirmative Action is a program that needs to be ended, and at the very least needs to be drastically changed in order for it to truly help those who need it the most. Though Affirmative Action has many supporters, there are also those who oppose it just as strongly. Nowadays, every problem that arises in our country somehow gets tied back into race. College admission is something that should be based on merit, not on the issue of racial diversity. Though diversity in the classroom is essential to good discussion, diversity doesn’t just come through race. College “students meet classmates who have very different takes on the world than their own, who devote their energies to very different enterprises, and who exemplify different values

For over forty years the issue of affirmative action has been subject to a tremendous amount of debate and controversy. Affirmative action policies and programs seek to redress and eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or sexuality; and therein lies the controversy, as much of the opposition to affirmative action argues that it creates reverse discrimination. Affirmative action is beneficial in assuring that women and minority groups don’t assume rolls of inferiority amongst society; and it encourages positive action to ensure that qualified candidates for employment positions and admissions to universities are given equal opportunity and consideration. The issue of affirmative action has become

Affirmative action is a practice that is intended to promote opportunities for the “protected class” which includes minorities, woman, and people with disabilities or any disadvantaged group for that matter. With affirmative action in place people of this protected class are given an even playing field in terms of hiring, promotion, as well as compensation. Historically, affirmative action is only known to have protected African Americans and woman; however that is not the case. Affirmative action protects a variety of people and without this statute many people included in this protected class would be unfairly discriminated against.

Therefore, the rationale behind most affirmative action is sound. It does make sense to attempt to normalize for differences in the college entry level because of the quality of preparation at the elementary and secondary levels because children have no say in where they attend school. Typically, they are forced to attend a school nearest to their home and they normally do not have any control over the quality of education they receive. I made no mention here of race, but the quality of the education; the unfortunate truth here is that these two are highly correlated in our country. I derive that those who may benefit from affirmative action policies have the ability to succeed but the preparation is lacking. No matter what the case may be, they do deserve a chance. Some would argue that once you reach post-college employment opportunities that there is no need for affirmative action since presumably the educational differences you find in secondary schools and colleges would have balanced out by the end of your college career. So often we still see employers choosing to hire someone that is under qualified as opposed to someone who is over qualified. Have you ever heard the statement, “We decided to go with someone with a little less experience”? Oftentimes, potential employers will tell candidates for positions this because it is sounds

Affirmative Action came about in response to legislation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. There were various political, societal and moral reasons to justify the legislation. Those reasons will be examined.

Affirmative Action was implemented as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 authorized under President Lyndon B. Johnson’s executive order 11246, and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The quota based system was enacted to close the gap between white male privilege and all ethnic minority groups to include women, homosexuals, the disabled as well as the elderly in attempt to rid professional institutions like businesses and universities of prejudice discrimination. In its 50 year history, much debate remains on whether the success of the program has actually aided in breaking down barriers or simply created a reverse discrimination paradox that disparages white males. As a result of this controversial