Affermative Action
Two words that can bring about emotionally charged debates on the validity of this policy. Is it a fair practice, as proponents argue, or simply a form of reverse discrimination? It is not always been easy to decide on this issue -- for the Supreme Court or society. As it intended, affirmative action means that people from a particular group should enjoy special consideration or benefits in job placement or college admissions. Usually, when one speaks of affirmative action, it is in relation to racial discrimination (although women, as a minority group, are also included), and some people feel that the government should have unrestricted freedom in developing plans to make up for past offenses. Other people argue that enforcing this plan is little more than an obviouse reverse discrimination, and it should not be allowed. The Supreme Court has placed affirmative action plans into two basic groups--quota plans and race-plus plans. Under a quota plan, a state or local government has to use different criteria when considering someone of a minority group for a job or admission to a university. There is usually a quota for the number of people of the particular group who must be granted bene
Affirmative action should be considered pro-active behavior. It may mean that employers need to revise their priorities in their hiring practices, such as by not trying to fill a job vacancy with someone who replicates the person who has left, but this is a small price to pay. To the limited extent that we work in a more integrated environment, affirmative action is largely and minorities will receive a fair chance (M. Anderson, 405). When a business enforces the affirmative action policy, white males can't assume that they will be first considered to be the most qualified for a particular position. Affirmative action, according to Margaret Anderson, editor of Gender & Society, places value on the representation and inclusion of diverse groups for the good of an organization or institution (405). It is slightly incongruous that there is such disagreement about the benefits of affirmative action among white males. When one considers that it is likely that white women have benefited the most from affirmative action, it seems odd that it is these men should condemn it when they are often married to employed women whose jobs help support their families (M. Anderson, 405). According to Philadelphia Tribune writer, Bernard Anderson, Although white men comprise less than 40 percent of the labor force, they are 96 percent of corporate CEOs. Women hold only three to five percent of the senior-level Among other things, a commitment to affirmative action, whether mandated by law or encouraged voluntarily produces vigilance, requiring employers (or college admissions officers) to act in a manner that ensures that women Recently there have been proposals in the Michigan Legislature to suppress affirmative action, but African American GOP leaders took a stand against this and other Republican leaders followed suit, withdrawing their support for the bills to end affirmative action (Tilles, PG). This 30-plus year old policy was given its impetus by an executive order in 1965 that was aimed at ending inequality in the workforce, where most jobs had typically been dominated by white males. In the last several years, affirmative action
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Approximate Word count = 1445
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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