Essay about Affirmative Action - 3693 Words

Affirmative Action Affirmative action is a blanket term that refers to â€Å"the set of public policies and initiatives designed to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, sex or national origin,† (Sykes). Before the Civil Rights Acts of 1965 and the 1954 Scott v. Topeka decision, there were â€Å"unwritten laws and protection for white men† against competition from women and ethnic minorities in prestigious professions, creating blatant inequality (Alsbrook). Affirmative action policies designed in part to counteract such â€Å"unwritten laws† were first employed in 1965 to provide equal opportunity among federal contractors; now however, they are used widely in many industries, both public and private (Kahn). In the†¦show more content†¦For example, according to a Department of Labor study, an estimated five million non-white workers and six million women are in higher occupational classifications today than they would have been without the affirmative action policies of the 1960s and 1970s (Americans 3). Turning to the realm of education, some opponents of affirmative action claim that its policies actually backfire, and that it harms the very groups it is intended to help. For example, Shelby Steele, a researcher who specializes in racial studies at Stanford University’s Hoover Institute, claims that blacks â€Å"stand to lose more from [affirmative action] than they gain,† (Steele 113). Steele argues that affirmative action in higher education precludes the success of racial minorities to â€Å"achieve proportionate representation on their own† because, as presently implemented, it confuses representation with development (115). He also claims that affirmative action leads to black self-doubt because it often calls for less prepared black students to compete directly with well-prepped whites (116). However, affirmative action proponent Ronald Dworkin utilizes evidence amassed from William Bowen and Derek Bok’s research on affirmative action in higher education to undermine both of Steele’s central arguments. Bowen and Bok’s study concluded that blacks do in fact applaud affirmative action because it has had positive effects on their educational experience andShow MoreRelatedThe Affirmative Of Affirmative Action Essay1389 Words   |  6 Pages Many affirmative action efforts have been made since the end of the Civil War in order to remedy the results of hundreds of years of slavery, segregation and denial of opportunity for groups that face discrimination. Many African Americans such as President Barack Obama, Senator Cory Booker, the writer Toni Morrison, the literary scholar Henry Louis Gates, media star Oprah Winfrey, and rap star Jay-Z have achieved positions of power and influence in the wider society (Giddens, Duneier, AppelbaumRead MoreAffirmative Action1559 Words   |  7 PagesRESEARCH PAPER AFFIRMATIVE ACTION INTRODUCTION Affirmative Action is an employment legislation protection system that is intended to address the systemized discrimination faced by women and minorities. It achieves this by enforcing diversity through operational intrusions into recruitment, selection, and other personnel functions and practices in America. Originally, Affirmative Action arose because of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s desire to integrate society on educationalRead MoreAffirmative Action1160 Words   |  5 PagesAffirmative Action Marlene S. Smith MGT/434 October 28, 2013 Thomas Affirmative Action Affirmative action is an action that was purposefully designed to provide full and equal opportunities for employment and education for women, minorities, and other individuals belonging to disadvantaged groups. This paper will assess the rudiments of Affirmative Action as it applies to public and private sector employers. The paper will also evaluate what employers are subject to affirmative actionRead MoreAffirmative Action1571 Words   |  7 PagesName Professor Name Management 11th November 2011 Affirmative Action Thesis: Affirmative Action has helped many women and minorities in entering the job market. Although there has been a lot of hue and cry regarding the benefits of the affirmative action and the suitability of candidates selected thorough affirmative action; research has shown that affirmative action is beneficial and the candidates of affirmative action perform as well as those who are selected through theRead MoreAffirmative Actions1078 Words   |  5 PagesRunning Head: AFFERMATIVE ACTION Affirmative Actions Affirmative action is an action taken by an organization to select on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity by giving due preferences to minorities like women and races being not adequately represented under the existing employment. To make the presentation of all these compositions almost equal in proportion to do away the injustice done in the past. The Supreme Company need to design an affirmative action program in the light ofRead MoreAffirmative Action1759 Words   |  8 PagesAffirmative Action Right? Affirmative action has been around for decades. 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Today affirmative action and other racial injustices tend to be in the spotlight quite often, suchRead MoreAffirmative Action774 Words   |  4 PagesAffirmative action is a practice that is intended to promote opportunities for the â€Å"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 actionRead MoreAffirmative Action : Gender Action Essay970 Words   |  4 PagesAffirmative Action (ADD PROPER INTRO) Affirmative action, in its broadest sense, are attempts to help create labor and educational opportunities for groups that have been disadvantaged in the past. (Miriam Webster). Evidence has shown that throughout history, many groups have been discriminated against, and because of past (discriminations?), they continue to experience obstacles in areas of hiring, promotion, renting, buying, gaining education, and everyday economic activities. Thus, affirmativeRead MoreAffirmative Action Is An Action Or Policy? Essay1774 Words   |  8 Pages Affirmative Action remains one of the more complicated and controversial topics dealt with in American society. Affirmative Action is an action or policy designed to protect specific groups who suffer from discrimination, and provide them with programs and special opportunities. These government or private programs were designed to set right historical injustices towards the members of these groups who have suffered things like employment and e ducational disadvantages from racial discrimination