Essay about Affirmative Action - 1384 Words

Affirmative Action has been an issue of contention since its inception during the Civil Rights struggles of mid 20th century America. Discrimination could no longer be tolerated and the Unites States government had an obligation to encourage equality at all levels of the social infrastructure. The main type of discrimination being addressed by Affirmative Action programs was racial discrimination. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines racism as: ‘a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.’ The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination of any kind, laid the foundation for the introduction of Affirmative Action†¦show more content†¦However, Affirmative Action was initially created to tackle the discrimination of blacks. Over the years, random testing has been conducted to analyze America’s social structure and the level of rac ial divide. The Fair Employment Council of Greater Washington Inc. did some testing between 1992 and 1994. The studies discovered that blacks were treated worse than whites 24 percent of the time when interviewing for jobs. In fact, when a car dealership conducted interviews, the black candidate was offered a car washing position while the white candidate, with identical qualifications, was offered a sales position. White males maintain 97 percent of the senior management positions in Fortune 1000 companies. The unemployment rate of whites is less than half that of blacks. The poverty rate in the black community hovers around 26 percent. The poverty rate for whites is 9 percent. The inequality between white and black America is alarming and Affirmative Action is desperately needed to establish some sense of equality. The fight for equal opportunity begins with the government, and all government agencies have made a concerted effort to establish Affirmative Action programs. The Unite d States Department of Labor offers this statement on its website: â€Å"For federal contractors and subcontractors, affirmative action must be taken by covered employers to recruit and advance qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans.Show 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 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 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 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. Some believe it isn’t fair but others do. Those who believe and agree with affirmative action tend to say, â€Å"The principle of affirmative action is to promote societal equality through the preferential treatment of socioeconomically disadvantaged people† (Bidmead, Andrew pg 3). Others that disagree with it and find it unfair simply see it as another form of discrimination, giving one group extra advantages based upon nothingRead MoreAffirmative Action And Its Effects On Affirmative1263 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout America there are many different views on the effects of affirmative action. Many see it as a negative policy which gives an unnecessary advantage to minorities in America. In a 2009 Pew Poll, â€Å"58% of African Americans agree† and only â€Å"22% whites agree† that there should be â€Å"preferential treatment to improve the position of blacks and other minorities† (Public Backs Affirmative Action†). 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