Affirmative Action
analytical Essay
4766 words
Affirmative Action
Because economic, social, gender and racial inequalities exist within the American population, it is in the best interest of its people and government to take action to amend these problems. Since the U.S has a capitalistic based economy, there is little that the government can do to completely end all inequalities. However, it can try to remedy racial and gender discrimination. The most realistic and supported program is Affirmative Action, which has many key issues: does the government have the right to enforce “reverse discrimination” or is it right to take race or gender into account for purposes of diversity and equality when evaluating college or job applications?
The United States has a history of treating minorities, women and immigrants like 2nd-class citizens while favoring affluent white males (Schrag). In 1857, the Scott vs. Sanford decision stated that blacks have “no rights which the white man is bound to respect” (Davis). However, changes were made in the legal treatment of women and minorities with the 1866 Civil Rights Act that guaranteed every citizen “the same right to make and enforce contracts…as enjoyed by white citizens” (Sykes) and the 14th Amendment, which “grants citizenship to everyone born in the US, forbids states from denying ‘life, liberty, or property’ without due process of law, and guarantees equal protection under the laws” (DCLU). Despite such legislation, a major setback took place in the 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson court decision upholding that “separate but equal” accommodations were constitutional (DCLU). Because of this forced inequality, many ethnicities were kept out of upper levels of American businesses and educational institutions (Hudson).
The mid-20th cent...
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The Hopwood Aftermath. University of Texas. 1 May 1997.
<<http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/pubs/record/Spring97/hopwood/hopwood.html>>. {unrestricted; print via internet; reputable}
Wydick, Bruce. “Affirmative Action in college admissions: Examining labor market effects of four alternative policies.” Contemporary Economic Policy. 20.1 (Jan 2003): 12-25. {primary scholarly; print via internet; reputable}
US Census Bureau. “Poverty Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin: 2001 and 2002.” {unrestricted; print via internet; reputable}
US Census Bureau. “Table 1: Income in the United States: 2002” pg. 3. {unrestricted; print via internet; reputable}
US Census Bureau. “Table 2: Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary
workers by occupation and sex, 1983 and 2002 annual averages.” {unrestricted; print via internet; reputable}
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the mid-20th century brought numerous advancements towards policies that worked to deal with inequality, such as brown vs. board of education ending legal segregation.
- Argues that affirmative action does help women and minorities attain jobs historically dominated by white males, but it does not allow them to be promoted to managers or ceos.
- Compares the number of unemployed blacks and employed whites in the civilian labor force in 2000, and argues that diversity training and affirmative action programs do not affect diversity.
- Explains that affirmative action supporters cite wage inequality between men and women, but there are several examples of resistance toward these goals.
- Argues that affirmative action supporters believe that diversity will help minorities succeed economically and socially as well as benefit society on the whole.
- Cites anderson, elizabeth, and the nyu law review. integration, affirmative action and strict scrutiny.
- Explains that the 1970s and the gender of class. feminist studies, 25.1, 1999, 42-79.
- Explains that lessons from a high-tech occupation. gender and society.
- Analyzes smith, james p., "affirmative action and the racial wage gap." the american economic review.
- Compares the 1983 and 2002 annual averages of workers by occupation and sex.
- Explains that the u.s has a capitalistic based economy, so it is in the best interest of its people and government to take action to amend these problems.
- Argues that the issue of affirmative action is divided because people differ in their beliefs on how inequality should be ended.
- Explains that affirmative action in college admissions is needed to maintain diversity and that black acceptance rates at universities prohibited from taking race into account are considerably lower than white acceptance rate.
- Recommends that the candidate take a position that clearly defines affirmative action and the ways in which he/she plans to fulfill its purposes.
- Cites abouali, diana, adam, kanya, and adam. affirmative action's uncertain future.
- Analyzes bunzel, john h., "race and college admissions." public interest.
- Explains cancio, silvia a, and t david evans and david j maume jr., 'reconsidering the declining significance of race: racial differences in early career wages'.
- Cites cohen, carl, and jordan j. cohen. the consequences of premature abandonment of affirmative action in medical school admissions.
- Analyzes dolton, o'neill, and sweetman's work on gender differences in the changing labor market.
- Cites harpalani, vinay, heilman madeline e, caryn j block, and peter stathatos.
- Explains that jacobs, jerry a., "gender inequality and higher education." annual review of sociology.
- Explains mcguire, gail, and barbara f. reskin's "authority hierarchies at work: the impacts of race and sex." gender and society.
- Analyzes the educational equity of girls and women.
- Cites the us census bureau's report on poverty rates by race and hispanic origin.
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- Affirmative Actionanalytical essayAffirmative Action Since its implementation in the United States in 1965, affirmative action has been a heated topic of debate. Designed to address the issue of inequality in American society, affirmative action is a number of programs and policies designed to give women and racial minorities more opportunities in education and the job market. As a result, affirmative action has received opposition, mainly from blue collar white males who feel that it compromises their best interests. In this paper, we will attempt to evaluate the impact of affirmative action on all Americans and its effectiveness in addressing the issue of inequality.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the impact of affirmative action on all americans and its effectiveness in addressing the issue of inequality.
- Explains that affirmative action was first mentioned in executive order 10925 on march 6, 1961. the civil rights act was signed by president johnson to guarantee equal rights to all americans.
- Analyzes how affirmative action was met with both support and opposition. conservatives saw it as opening doors of opportunity for minorities while shutting them for whites, calling it reverse racism.
- Analyzes how affirmative action supporters countered the argument that jews and asians came to the united states on their own free will.
- Explains that the first landmark ruling of affirmative action occurred in 1978 in the supreme court case regents of the university of california v. bakke.
- Explains how the supreme court ruled in fullilove v. klutznick that modest quotas were constitutional. in 1987, the court struck down the school board's practice of laying off white teachers to protect minority teachers.
- Explains that several states have banned affirmative action for college admissions if not altogether.
- Explains that the supreme court upheld the university of michigan's law school admissions while it struck down the school’s undergraduate admission. the school had a subjective approach to admitting applicants while the undergrad admission was very formulaic.
- Analyzes the results of a gallup poll asking americans whether they favor or oppose affirmative action programs for racial minorities.
- Analyzes norman yetman's article race and ethnicity, which states that the onto-historical background of a minority affects their mentality towards affirmative action.
- Explains that attitudinal discrimination is more difficult to encounter in present-day america. it has only dug itself deeper into our society, safely below the protective coverings of industry and commerce.
- Explains that racial steering is the practice of showing white and black clients homes or apartments primarily in neighborhoods similar to the client.
- Argues that to effectively argue and support affirmative action, it is imperative to look at the clear and present financial disparities between black and white families.
- Analyzes the disparities in the amount of money a public school can take from when funding black or white schools.
- Explains that minorities in general have a poor chance of breaking out of their financial status and moving up to become competitive in the job world. attitudinal racial discrimination is one of the main factors influencing this statistic.
- Analyzes the empirical arguments against affirmative action, stating that there are more minorities in skilled job positions today than there were in the past.
- Argues that affirmative action fails to draw a proper correlation between the actual people that benefit and the disadvantage they are categorized under.
- Explains that racial, ethnic, and gender distinctions simply don't correlate sufficiently with the distinction between those unfairly disadvantaged. affirmative action magnifies this lack of correlation by favoring the most advantaged minority members and women.
- Argues that the problem of inequality lies more within the separation of social class, so it is not logical to have race be a determining factor in who benefits.
- Argues that affirmative action is detrimental to white males who feel threatened or insecure in the workplace as minorities and women receive more opportunities. employers and college admissions officers often look at personal qualities that cannot be measured.
- Analyzes the moral stance against affirmative action, stating that it increases nation-wide attitudinal discrimination against women and minorities.
- Argues that affirmative action leveled the playing field for women and minorities by granting them better opportunities in education and the job market.
- Argues that white people need to recompense black people for years of past discrimination rooted in the nation's history of slavery.
- Analyzes how whites and blacks hold drastically different opinions when asked whether or not inequality is prevalent in the job market.
- Opines that while the majority of americans support affirmative action as an answer to inequality, there is a clear racial divide in public opinion.
- Explains that public opinion polls show a clear gap between genders when it comes to the issue of affirmative action.
- Opines that affirmative action programs, while supported by the majority, should only assist women and minorities in getting a job.
- Explains that 69% of the general public believes that affirmative action programs should assist women and minorities, while 66% of americans oppose preference for women over others.
- Opines that the greatest contributor to this issue's divisiveness is ignorance. majority whites poor, and rich alike ignore the present day inequalities facing racial minorities.
- Opines that affirmative action programs are positive steps towards equality, but further action needs to be taken, especially in the area of funding for public education.
- Analyzes carey's review of current research on education funding and low-income children.
- Explains the financial accounting for local, and state school systems, national center for educational statistics, october 2003.
- Cites joint center's "historical trends ii: the educational progress of african americans."
4025 wordsRead More - Affirmative Actionanalytical essayAffirmative Action Affirmative action is one of the more recent and popular civil rights policies that affect today's society. Affirmative action can be described as nothing more than a lower educational standard for minorities. It has become quite clear that affirmative action is unfair and unjust. However, in order to blend race, culture, and genders to create a stable and diverse society, someone has to give. How can this be justified?
In this essay, the author
- Explains that affirmative action promotes the hiring of less skilled workers, and sometimes forces employers to choose the best of the minority workers.
- Analyzes how the supreme court has developed a test that supposedly proves affirmative action to be useful.
- Opines that affirmative action in college is worse because people not in a minority can be cheated out of their education.
- Opines that affirmative action benefits society in today's society if it is debated in an atmosphere free of suspicions.
- Argues that the supreme court considers affirmative action to be a serious order of business.
- Explains that affirmative action is a popular civil rights policy that affects today's society.
- Cites guersey, joann bren, and pasour, earnest. affirmative action: a counter productive policy.
1567 wordsRead More - Affirmative Actionexplanatory essayAffirmative action is defined as compensatory treatment for previously disadvantaged groups. One keyword we must understand to get a better feeling of what affirmative action really is would be compensatory. Defined in the dictionary compensatory is of payment, intended to recompense someone who has experienced loss, suffering, or injury. We must also understand discrimination; discrimination is the intentional exclusion of a person or a group of people because of their race or culture. Affirmative action was first introduced in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. Since the 1960’s affirmative action has been a catalyst for change with race and gender related discrimination issues. Originally, civil rights programs were enacted to help African Americans become full citizens of the United States. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution made slavery illegal; the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law; the Fifteenth Amendment forbids racial discrimination in access to voting. The 1866 Civil Rights Act guarantees every citizen "the same right to make and enforce contracts ... as is enjoyed by white citizens ... " (Sykes, 1995). The point of affirmative action is to secure racial diversity in educational settings, workplaces, and government contracts, to remedy continuing systemic discrimination against people of color, and to help ensure equal opportunities for all people. Affirmative action is what helps open more doors for minorities and groups within a society to give them equal access as to the majority who are more privileged and are able to land the job without having to worry about discrimination. One of the goals of affirmative action is to make the professional industry more diverse.
In this essay, the author
- Defines affirmative action as compensatory treatment for previously disadvantaged groups. it was first introduced in 1961 by president john f. kennedy and has been a catalyst for change with race and gender related discrimination issues.
- Explains that affirmative action brings to the table some issues that can help people who never had a chance to get where they wanted to be in life.
- Explains that hopwood and three white students were denied admission even though they were better qualified than many of the candidates who were minority. the fifth circuit court of appeals issued that the university is no longer allowed to use race as a factor in admitting applicants.
- Opines that affirmative action is a disguise for racial discrimination and that it should be improved by targeting those who need help.
- Explains that affirmative action redirects jobs to those who need them. a diverse workforce introduces diverse points of view, thus increasing a firm’s ability to respond to challenges and problems.
- Explains that affirmative action enhances diversity and helps disadvantaged minorities. reverse discrimination would be on majority groups and favors minority groups.
- Explains that the presidents who supported affirmative action were john f. kennedy, lyndon b. johnson, richard nixon, jimmy carter, ronald reagan, and william clinton.
- Explains that the 14th amendment paved the way for affirmative action. it forbade states from creating laws that infringed upon the rights of u.s. citizens.
1060 wordsRead More - Affirmative Actionanalytical essayDespite there is a widespread support for affirmative action in education, the paper argues that affirmative action is merely a means of reverse discrimination against white and Asian students alike, creates a mismatch in colleges, and restricts students from reaching their potentials. In order to help the readers to thoroughly understand the issue, the paper first gives a brief history about affirmative action while defines the term itself and reverse discrimination. Using statistics, the argument then focuses on pointing out why affirmative action is a reverse discrimination. Yet, not only creating a racial preference against white and Asian students, the paper continues the controversy topic with the mismatch theory and how it affects students illustrating by examples. After addressing the mismatch is a product of affirmative action, the discussion that affirmative action restricts student from reaching their full potential takes place, putting an end to the paper.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the paper argues that affirmative action is merely a means of reverse discrimination against white and asian students alike.
- Explains the concept of affirmative action in 1961, when president kennedy asked government contractors to take "affirmative steps" to prevent discrimination, suggesting general efforts to reach out to minority groups.
- Argues that affirmative action is a reverse discrimination against majority groups.
- Analyzes how affirmative action benefits the african american middle class more than the lower class.
- Analyzes how affirmative action induces panic and self-doubt among african-american students.
- Analyzes how affirmative action can be taken as a condescension and insult to those people by implying minorities cannot achieve their goals through hard work and ability.
1098 wordsRead More - Affirmative Actionopinionated essayAffirmative Action “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” The classic line from George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, still rings quite true today. American society has constantly plagued itself by overextending its gratitude for wrongs committed all too long ago, and is therefore still suffering the repercussions. Remedies are all too often far too generous and even tending to breach those same boundaries it is trying to protect.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how affirmative action has become more of a political tool than social program and its intent is far from what it once was.
- Explains that the civil rights act of 1964 set the first standards for non-discrimination in public, though private discrimination was, and still is, allowed. affirmative action emerged in the early 60’s under the leading 300 corporations.
- Explains the enigma of affirmative action under the ofccp, which was a program that encouraged employers to open up the job market to offer more accessibility towards minority groups.
- Explains how affirmative action was introduced into politics during the seventies. in 1998, california adopted the controversial proposition 209, which abolished state-wide affirmative action.
- Explains that washington state followed suit with the initiative-200 which was voted into place by a 58% majority of the public in november 1998.
- Opines that politics at the state and federal level have been at ends over the methods in which to deal with this topic. the democrats are predominately for and the republicans arbitrarily against.
- Opines that affirmative action is becoming a hindrance and is beginning to reverse the tables.
- Opines that being a white male, they find it harder to achieve admission into prestigious universities, and receive scholarships. they find this appalling.
- Analyzes how cohen refers to the american tendency to pay back far more than is necessary, to those who are not even applicable. affirmative action is a way of paying back black minorities for years of suffering
- Opines that affirmative action has a positive side, since it provides equal opportunities for minorities and women for jobs.
- Opines that the federal government should follow in the footsteps of their predecessors and do away with policies that only bring trouble.
931 wordsRead More - Affirmative Actionanalytical essayIntroduction Affirmative Action began in 1965 when President Johnson signed the Executive Order 11246 in to law. The Executive Order prevents federal contractors from discriminating against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The phrase “affirmative action” was first coined, when federal contractors were required to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants were not discriminated against in anyway. When affirmative action was created, it only included minorities. In 1967, Johnson decided to expand the program to include women because women were discriminated against much like minorities.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that affirmative action began in 1965 when president johnson signed the executive order 11246 in to law.
- Explains that affirmative action promotes reverse discrimination, which is preferential treatment of one group over another, rather than equal opportunity.
- Explains that affirmative action was put into use during the 1960's and the civil rights movement of 1964 emphasized the program. the main goal was to give minorities and women an equal opportunity at employment.
- Argues that affirmative action in collegiate admissions has a huge negative impact on our economy and could destroy the legitimacy of minorities.
939 wordsRead More - Affirmative Actionopinionated essayIn the United States a process called Affirmative Action is used to help to overcome the affects of past societal discrimination by granting jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. The policy was implemented by federal agencies enforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and by the Equal Employment Opportunities Act of 1972. While many people believe it is a step in the right direction in stopping employment discrimination, it is taking jobs from qualified persons because they are not of a certain race or gender, in turn doing the same thing that was done to minorities and women for years.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that in the united states, a process called affirmative action is used to help overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by granting jobs and resources to members of specific groups.
- Opines that affirmative action would allow two people who apply for a job in an office building to be judged differently — one is white and the other is black.
- Explains that asian-americans, who oppose affirmative action policies, argue that they are overrepresented, arguing that race-based policies should be abolished.
- Opines that the government's goal is to provide education and opportunities for minorities, which has had a chain effect on our society.
- Opines that granting modest advantages to minorities and women is more than fair, given hundreds of years of discrimination, but government and civil rights activists must find a better and more effective way to even the scale.
601 wordsRead More - Affirmative Actionanalytical essayFor the past several years the argument over affirmative action has been a highly debated topic. The issue at hand is whether or not affirmative action is reverse discrimination or not. Affirmative action by definition "means taking positive steps to end discrimination, to prevent its recurrence, and to create new opportunities that were previously denied to qualified women and people of color," (Work & Family). The reason that affirmative action is so controversial is because Americans can't decide what they want. "Poll after poll concludes that Americans firmly support "‘affirmative action'" to create opportunities for women and people of color, while they vigorously oppose "quotas'" and "‘preferences'" for unqualified candidates," (Work & Family). Which is odd considering that the same "affirmative action" that people support does in fact, in some cases, put unqualified personnel in undeserving positions. For those people who believe affirmative action works they generally are only focusing on the diversity affirmative action has brought to jobs. Their arguments consist of wanting to see more ethnic and gender diversity in jobs that are usually being worked by white males. To many of these people quality is sometimes put aside for quantity and diversity. The strongest argument that the people who are in support of affirmative action is that having more gender and ethnical diversity brings more to the work place. This argument is very good and very accurate. Having different people in different jobs helps a company to work and receive input from all sorts of different perspectives.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that affirmative action is controversial because americans can't decide what they want. the strongest argument is that having more gender and ethnical diversity brings more to the work place.
- Analyzes how affirmative action leads to a better understanding of the target market's wants. they argue that companies don't try and fill quotas in their gender and ethnical hiring.
- Explains that bakke's argument was that he would have been the 85th ranked student in the class. the supreme court ruled that the affirmative action plan of the university was constitutional, but their use of a quota was not constitutional.
- Argues that affirmative action is unfair to the company, the consumer, and the co-workers. they disagree with the idea that people of minority and different genders are hired immediately without being put through a process.
- Opines that affirmative action does not discriminate against people of color, but it does encourage them to get the proper education to compete for jobs.
- Cites o'brien, david m., 'work & family,' and the fourth edition of constitutional law and politics.
1316 wordsRead More - Affirmative Actionanalytical essay“The ‘under representation’ of any racial group, it was decided, was evidence of discrimination�(Guernsey). Affirmative action did not start out as a reverse discrimination towards white males, but it was meant to help everybody, but failed nearly completely after a time of which it was affected. The original concept of affirmative action excluded any mention of preference. “Launched during the late 1960s by the administration of President Richard M. Nixon, affirmative action programs call for guidelines and goals in the hiring of racial and ethnic minorities, the handicapped, and women. They have been effective in promoting change in hiring practices because they have the weight of the federal government behind them. As a direct result, a broader range of opportunities have become available for blacks in government, the corporate world, and colleges and universities. In the beginning, the 1960’s, when President Johnson used the affirmative action policy it was necessary and effective. At that time there was racial discrimination towards people of all black races in the United States of America, so it was a necessity to have such a law to create equal opportunity, but this was also created to have a racially and gender blind solution. This has turned into a racially unequal program that now has a negative effect on society. Affirmative due to quotas and favoritism towards minorities have a negative effect on society and have created a reverse discrimination.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that affirmative action programs were effective in promoting change in hiring practices because they had the weight of the federal government behind them.
- Explains the mistreatment of blacks and other minorities during american history. the 1964 civil rights act, title ii and vii, and 1965 voting rights act made discrimination illegal.
- Explains that affirmative action advocates believe that society must make up for the inequalities of the past.
- Analyzes how the affirmative action policy has hurt many by its demand for more representation by the minorities and women.
- Argues that affirmative action programs create an atmosphere in which blacks are taught to blame their shortcomings on whites and encouraged to believe that they are too different to adhere to the standards of society.
- Argues that quotas and preferential treatment are not morally acceptable and cause problems for people of all colors and genders.
- Opines that affirmative action is a reverse discrimination and should be supported by the great country of the united states.
1662 wordsRead More - Affirmative Action in the United Statesanalytical essayIf you ask what affirmative action is numerous Americans in America could not tell you the definition of affirmative action or how it affects us as individuals and our communities in the United States. When trying to understand the issue of affirmative action you have to ask yourself the key question what is affirmative action? Affirmative action are laws that are put in place referring to various government policies that aim to increase the percentages of African-Americans, women, and other minorities in jobs and educational institutions. The policy gives major companies a required percentage of employers to hiring that are in minority groups. Now that we have clearly identify what affirmative action is we need to ask our-self are the affirmative action policies being put into place in American companies? In this paper we will compare and contrast two articles and discussing in detail two sides who the experiences with affirmative action affects minorities in the community and education system.
In this essay, the author
- Explains the definition of affirmative action and how it affects individuals and communities in the united states.
- Analyzes ward connerly's article, "one nation, indivisible", in which he expresses the legislators' approval of affirmative action laws and how it affects society.
- Analyzes the findings of william g.bowen and derek bok's article, "pro and con," based on a study research.
- Argues that affirmative action laws are holding many african americans from prevailing in society and in education.
- Analyzes how connerly believes that policies like affirmative action are segregating minorities instead of bringing them together as one big minority.
- Compares the views of william g. bowen and derek bok on affirmative action. both agree that racial judgment against african americans is the main issue in american society.
- Analyzes how bowen and bok disagree on who gets the blame in why the system is the way it is. they point out that there is racial judgment against african americans and as a society we need to fix it.
- Opines that affirmative action laws promote a wide range of opportunities to individuals regardless of race, ethnicity or gender. ward connerly believes that the laws are segregating americans into categories instead of seeing us as one united group of people.
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