I. INTRODUCTION
In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was enacted to do away with much of the conspicuous discrimination that was going on in the American workplace. Despite this, discrimination in the workplace continues albeit in a more covert manner, making it very hard to diagnose and prescribe a solution. The 1964 Civil Rights Act was enacted to remove any form of discrimination against any persons because of their race, religion, sex, or national origin. In 1967, it was made illegal for employers to discriminate because of age and in 1990, Congress said employers could not discriminate because of ones disability. African Americans have suffered from workplace discrimination far more than any other demographic in the workforce; this can be attributed
…show more content…
In 1961, affirmative action was introduced in the United States as a way to curb the discrimination African-Americans were facing in the workplace. President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 10925, it stated, “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 subsequent administration of Lyndon B. Johnson signed Executive Order 11246 which required and organization with revenue of $50,000 or more from one federal contract within 12 months and with over 50 employees is required to have an affirmative action written plan. Their plan needed to include set goals and a timetable of achieving a staff with the required amount of women and people from different minority groups. The “required amount” is determined by the amount of people in the current labor force against the amount of women and minorities available in the labor …show more content…
The question that critics ask is whether the gains made in the labor market by women and minorities because of affirmative action would continue if it were no longer a requirement for employers (Coate & Loury). No one will question that affirmative action has helped to advance the place of women and minorities but has it helped to erode the negative stereotypes that are associated with these groups of people? In order for the progress women and minorities have made to be permanent, these kind of preferential programs need to address the negative stereotypes or at the very least, halt any reinforcement of stereotypes. According to R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., affirmative action at the time of its conception was based on five assumptions. Although I did not see eye to eye on most of his assumptions, there was one worth
Affirmative action, an idea which began in the 1930s but truly kicked off in the 1960s, consists of a wide variety of programs meant to help level the playing field in both universities and the workplace by making race and gender a consideration in the selection process. While supporters believe affirmative action must stay an active policy so that the United States can continue to strive for proportional equality in higher level jobs and education, opponents argue positions should be awarded on an individual basis based on merit alone. Although affirmative action policies have done impressive work creating these opportunities, it is now time to question if, after 40 years, this method is working and should be continued, if the current policies are no longer effective and the negative costs now outweigh the possible benefits and a new approach should be put into place.
In today’s world, the American still has barriers to overcome in the matter of racial equality. Whether it is being passed over for a promotion at the job or being underpaid, some people have to deal with unfair practice that would prevent someone of color or the opposite sex from having equal opportunity at the job. In 2004, Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Stores Incorporation was a civil rights class-action suite that ruled in favor of the women who worked and did not received promotions, pay and certain job assignments. This proves that some corporations ignore the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which protects workers from discrimination based on sex, race, religion or national origin.
Newfield, Christopher. "Targeting Affirmative Action." Unmaking the Public University: The Forty-year Assault on the Middle Class. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2008. 83-85. Print.
Fryer, Roland G. Jr., and Glenn C. Loury. 2005. "Affirmative Action and Its Mythology." Journal
Nacoste, Rupert W. (1987) Affirmative Action in American Politics: Strength or Weakness? Political Behavior, Vol. 9, No. 4, 291-304.
Sacks, David, and Peter Thiel. "The Case Against Affirmative Action." Stanford Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2014.
McKenna, George, and Stanley Feingold. "Does Affirmative Action Advance Racial Equality?" Taking Sides. 18th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2013. N. pag. Print.
Works Cited Page Affirmative Action: Part 1 Enforcing Equality, " An Affirmative Action Primer", The Virginia Pilot. 1995. Pilot Online. 12, September 1998. Heilman, Madeline. Study: Affirmative Action Hires Abilities Doubted @. Money Magazine, Aug. 31, 1992, 3B. Kahlenberg, Richard D. The Remedy. New York; BasicBooks, 1996. M., Marsha. "Untitled". Tidewater Community College. November, 1998. Roberts, Paul Craig., and Lawrence M. Stratton. The New Color Line. Washington, DC; Regnery Publishing, 1995.
Affirmative action was instituted to redress the social inequities of past discrimination in employment against what became known as a 'protected class' (women and minorities). The goals of affirmative action plans are to increase the representation of historically disadvantaged people in the workplace equal to their representation in the corresponding community and relevant labor market. This formula is how affirmati...
Affirmative action has remained controversial throughout the years, finding itself in and out of the courts. One of the most famous cases was Fullilove vs. Klutznick, which took place in 1980. The ruling stated that setting aside 10 percent of the hiring for mino...
Payne, Angela R., and Bharat S. Thakkar. "The Hypocrisy Of Affirmative Action: Race And The Labor Market." International Journal Of Innovations In Business 1.4 (2012): 274-292. Business Source Premier. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
Discrimination at work is a touchy issue. Most people, if not all, have experienced some sort or form of it and they ignored it, quit, or got fired from their job. Women tend to be more emotional than men and when women are judged and discriminated they are offended by it immediately. Also, the fact of women getting a lower income than men for the same job is almost unbelievable. It is very important to be concerned on the issue because it is constantly increasing throughout the United States. It upsets me that women are paid less than men because women have the same ability and work ethic as men do, but they are looked at differently. According to AAUW, women are making 77 percent of what men make. This rate hasn’t changed since 2002 (Hill, 2013). Statistics show that women will never make as much as men due to the thought of never being comparable to men (Williams, 2013).
Most companies after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 employed the idea of affirmative action. “Affirmative action is legally driven by federal, state and provincial, and local laws, as well as numerous court cases. It requires written reports containing plans and statistical goals for specific groups of people in terms of such employment practices as hiring, promotions, and layoffs” (Hunt, Osborn, Schermerhorn Jr., 2003, pg.62).
Gender bias has a long history and continues to occur in the workplace today. Research indicates that women remain significantly disadvantaged and mistreated compared to men in the workforce. How do the disparities of hiring, promotion, and salaries affect women in the workplace?
Workplace diversity has become a growing concern within organizations. Managers are now challenged with learning new ways to effectively communicate the importance of embracing different races and ethnicities. Diversity encompasses many different characteristics including age, gender, ethnicity, religion and disabilities (Robbins). As of late, age has become more of a concern as the baby boomer generation begins to reach retirement age; many are not retiring early but instead are working well into their seventies. Unfortunately for those baby boomers, the number of retirees decreased during the 2008-2009 recession mostly due to economic struggle. People cannot afford to retire, perhaps because they did not save enough for retirement or had to dip into their retirement fund to survive earlier in life. In addition to age discrimination, gender discrimination is another common diversity issue. According to “Organizational Behavior,” as of 2000, more women are working full time, have more education, and have started to close the earning gap between men and women (Robbins). Most commonly, women are targeted in the workplace fo...