Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action programs promote equal representation of minority groups in the American workplace and public schools. It seeks to remedy the effects of discrimination of specific groups through the force of laws and regulations. In practice, affirmative action can be a passive effort or an aggressive approach to correct historic patterns of racial discrimination. Affirmative Action programs are designed to give opportunities through programs like employee training and set-aside programs that make special efforts to include minorities and women. In theory it is an excellent idea; unfortunately, through the years, many feel affirmative action has changed from equal opportunity for everyone to preferential treatment of minority groups. Whites label it as reverse discrimination in which whites are now at a disadvantage. The original concept involved only passive efforts such as encouraging institutions to make deliberate attempts to include minorities in employment and in college enrollment. In recent years, affirmative action has become an aggressive effort that requires and measures minority representation. As a result, Affirmative Action has produced undesirable problems in the American culture.
In some situations in which blacks are severely underrepresented, meeting a numerical goal may require selecting a specific number of blacks that are "basically qualified" to do the job. " Opportunities are supposedly given to the best-qualified candidate, but the way institutions determine who is the best qualified is fantastically flawed. Minorities are being denied opportunities to advance because of the structure in which our society has developed over time. Both Black," how racial discrimination still plays a part in society: "We [blacks] are still humiliatingly vulnerable to racism, in the form of random police harassment, individual racial insults from waitresses and attendants in stores, the unwillingness of taxi drivers to pick us up, systematic discrimination by banks and bank loan officers, wage discrimination in the workplace, and our perception of a `glass ceiling' in the corporate world. Orlando Patterson-a Harvard sociology professor-recognizes this dilemma in America. Failure to meet numerical goals may cause some businesses to suffer grave consequences. Yet they ask, "But why me? I didn't own slaves. Affirmative Action is a program that helps everyone have that same opportunity to advance. The teacher was awarded three years back pay and returned to her job after her victory in court. " Proponents of affirmative action claim we need programs in place to ensure that the promise of equality is not an empty one. Through programs and other government aid, in 1992, the female labor force has increased by nearly one million workers each year for the past four decades.
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