Affirmative Action : An Unfair Advantage For Minorities

The article illustrates that the affirmative action policy favors minority members, females and economically disadvantaged people. The focus of the affirmative action policy is to remove discrimination and achieve diversity. The central aspect of research revolves around people that have been discriminated. The policy helps individuals that are qualified candidates for positions of one group over the other.

As well as affirmative action being a prevalent part of the workplace, it is also present in many of today’s colleges and universities. Colleges and universities will give more opportunities for scholarships and financial aid, as well as admission to said colleges and universities. When going through applications, colleges and universities will seek out applicants who are

The purpose of Affirmative Action is to promote equality, personally this is one that I can respect because I am African American and if it were not for this law those before me would not have come this far. Affirmative Action has helped to produce a varied and compliant civilization. Although affirmative Action has been scrutinized as repeal discrimination amongst its reviewers, for those who has benefited from it would view it as them being handed a better opportunity in life. Even though the objective of Affirmative Action is to uphold equality, the same idea can occasionally result in other individuals being singled out. By making the focal point on hiring a specific amount of person’s on the basis of their race or ethnicity, extremely competent individuals are from time to time overlooked in the employment procedure. Hiring based upon a person’s race, age, sex, or religion is unfair and should not be the qualifying aspect.

Proponents of affirmative action believe that it is a necessary step toward racial equality. Opponents argue on the basis of “reverse racism,” which claims that affirmative action keeps certain members of the majority ethnic group out of jobs or other positions that they deserve solely because of quotas that must be filled. The positive effects of affirmative action are the basis behind the arguments of those who support considering ethnicity and race as a part of admissions.

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

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 10925, which created the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, or CEEO. One purpose of the CEEO was to “recommend additional affirmative steps which should be taken by executive departments and agencies to realize more fully the national policy of nondiscrimination” (Kennedy). This executive order planted the seeds that grew into what is today known as “race-based affirmative action,” or the “practice of actively recruiting members of historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities” (Schaefer 413). The rationale behind race-based affirmative action policies is that they help blunt the effects of institutional racism while promoting diversity.

The issue at hand is if affirmative action is necessary. Does America need it? Is it fair? Is it actually helping minorities get ahead? Is affirmative action causing “reverse discrimination?” The targeted audience seems to be major corporations and education administrators. The main point of their thesis is affirmative action helps minority groups gain access to education and jobs that they would not usually have access to. The purpose of this article is to inform their audience why affirmative action is a necessary policy to have.

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.

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.

Some would argue that affirmative action only hurts those of minority, I would agree. Affirmative action allows those of minority the ability to attend school on race and not so much academics. Using this as a standard to allow students into a school not only hurts a student but the university as well. When students are allowed to enter a university because of race and not their abilities it only hinders that student. There have been several court cases sense the beginning of affirmative action, most of which have upheld the AA rule.

Affirmative action is a social policy created to promote the welfare of minorities by supporting the idea that individuals are all created equal and should not be judged by race or gender. Therefore, in situations like job and university applications, we should consider minorities to be as feasible a choice for hire as a white male candidate, taking into consideration their background. In short, it tries to give minorities that have been at a disadvantage their whole life, an opportunity to ‘equal the playing field ' by providing a broader context by which to measure an applicant or prospective employee. In the end, however, this goal is not realized. Instead, superficial ‘quotas ' are established and the

Affirmative action has been one of the most effective tools to correct a history of inequalities in our nation’s history against people of color and women. The huge advances made during Civil Rights era still has not completely eradicated centuries of sexism and racism. Opportunities for advancement for those previously omitted remain few and far between in comparison to their counterparts. Race and gender are not, nor should they be, the only selection measure but they do warrant to be one of the many influences considered in college admissions, hiring, and awarding of grants and other forms of financial aid. Many prestigious and well regarded school universities such as Harvard and Stanford have been at the forefront of this ideal. Nonetheless, affirmative action remains a heavily contested social issue in the United States.

Affirmative action is described in sociology as, policies and programs that aim to avoid discrimination and redress past discrimination through the active recruitment of qualified minorities for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities. (i.e. Exp. Soc., pg 280). In other words, the law was put in place as an attempt to create pluralism in the United States structure of opportunity. When describing affirmative action, the generalized assumption is individuals being handed opportunities based only on their ethnicity. Whether or not that opinion rings through to the majority, consider the events that lead to the enactment of affirmative action in the first place.

While Affirmative Action policies in existence have aimed to combat discrimination, they have not contributed fully to establishing fairness and equality in their implementation. These legislations execute reverse discrimination in an attempt to undo the evils of oppression in the past, while using racial preferences as a means to award recipients over academic achievement.

Affirmative action came into play in the mid 1960’s President Lyndon Johnson issued an executive order that announced a toughened federal initiative requiring that employers with a history of discrimination in employment supply goals and timetables for the achievement of equal employment opportunity. (Arnold 211) Affirmative action is defined as a set of laws, policies, or guidelines that set in motion specific steps that need to be taken hire and promote persons from groups that were discriminated against. Affirmative action follows the Utilitarian theory, since it is looking out for the greater good by ensuring individuals of different backgrounds get a fair opportunity to excel in today’s society. The good in this scenario is that minorities