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I. A policy for discriminated groups. II. Affirmative actions Historical background; The Supreme Courts treatment; Affirmative action plan; DVAAP; Programs based on race; Problems. III. Results of Affirmative actions: 1.
opponents point of view; 2. pr opponents point of view In Defence of Affirmative Action Affirmative action has been created as a policy with the purpose to increase the opportunities for usually discriminated groups that are characterized by race, gender or physical disability. Affirmative action usually focuses on education, employment, government contracts, health care, or social welfare. The programs of affirmative action have been upheld as a remedy for past injustice.
Affirmative action began forty years ago. In 1964 - 1965, President Johnson came to the thought that it was not enough to remove legal barriers confronting minorities. It was needed to take affirmative action to help them overcome decades of prior discrimination. So, on September 24, 1965, he issued an executive order to take affirmative action to recruit, higher and promote more racial minorities. Two years later Johnson added women to the groups covered by previous anti discrimination. Under the Constitution discrimination is an action or behavior that limits an individuals or groups right to their opportunities in housing, jobs, education or participation in an organization.
So, all discriminations, whether it is discrimination on race or on gender, are an action addressed to elimination of an individuals or groups right. The Supreme Courts treatment appeared at that time when people began to understand their equal rights in the world. The most wildly discussed cases were about racial and sex discrimination. In 1999, nine cases were sent to the Supreme Court. All of them related to labor and employment law.
Those cases were about employee benefits, civil rights and discrimination. A lot of affirmative action programs were upheld by the Court. They were created with the purpose to abolish discriminatory employment practices without creating quotas. The Supreme Court doctrine on affirmative action pointed that the program should serve a governmental interest. These requirements were added to Proposition 209, passed by voters in 1996 to end racial and gender preferences in State employment, education, and contracting.
The programs that the Supreme Court confirmed identified discrimination and were applied without regard to race- or gender-based preferences, according to the Court. One of those programs said that State agencies should determine areas of State employment where women and minorities were not being fully utilized and to identify measures for increasing their utilization. The measures were taken to meet the requirement that a remedy was a "specific act" of discrimination. The Court also upheld that the method of estimating the progress in equalizing employment opportunities was a narrowly tailored means serving a compelling government interest.
Most of all it was pointed by the Court that Proposition 209 did not prohibit using racial or gender-based criteria applied without discriminatory or preferential intent. Each Affirmative action plan has Statement of its Policy. As usual, it is pointed that an agency or a department will not discriminate against any employee or applicant including those with physical or mental disability or veteran status. System Offices are responsible for the specific and results-oriented procedures that have been established by Affirmative Action Plan. Affirmative Action Plan is the policy to ensure equal employment opportunity for all persons. They are responsible for affirmative action to employ, advance in employment for those people taking into account such employment practices as promotion; demotion; transfer; lay-off or termination; compensation; and selection for training.
The Director of Human Resource Services coordinates all System Offices affirmative action programs. Since the time of the Civil War, Veterans of the Armed Forces have been given some preference in appointments to jobs. Congress passed some laws to protect disabled veterans seeking employment from being refused because of the time spent in military service. Disabled veterans are those who have physical or mental injuries that limit persons life activities, have a record of such impairments. For fulfillment of recruitment, employment, and advancement program for disabled veterans a lot of departments and agencies were required to create annual Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program (DVAAP) Plans. The accomplishment reports should be submitted by Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
Those reports show the efforts that have been taken for providing the maximum employment and job advancement opportunities for disabled veterans. By the way, DVAAP plans should be up-to-date. The programs conferred special treatment based on race, especially, in higher education and employment. The groups now regularly designated for favorable treatment are Black, Latinos and Native Americans. The programs have been praised for increasing minority access to business and professional careers and blamed for debasing standards in the process.
The general question before the Supreme Court was whether such a policy is constitutional. The framework for answering the question had been indicated in decisions: since the policy requires the classification of people based on race or ethnicity by a state agency, it may be a violation of the Constitutions Equal Protection Clause. There are several workforce problems. First of all economic conditions influence greatly System Offices competitiveness. Economic downturn has negative impact on the labor market. Noncompetitive salaries for some staff positions influence System Offices recruiting competitiveness.
The other problem is that the size and isolated location of some communities. Thats why they are not always attractive to single professionals, including women, minorities and disabled veterans in terms of finding other professionals with whom to interact. Most of all, there is another problem of retention and upward mobility of women, minorities and persons with disabilities among classified staff. The problem relates to turnover of women, minorities and persons with disabilities from under represented job groups. The decision is in improving the working atmosphere for them. Job descriptions and reclassification or reallocation requests should be regularly reviewed in a timely manner; and staff members should be encouraged to test for promotions.
But Affirmative action does not mean lowering standards of excellence nor does it mean that unqualified persons will be hired. Most of all it increases the opportunities for women and minorities in all areas of the workforce. Some methods have been created with the purpose to attract women and minority applicants for vacant positions. They have an opportunity to receive additional training through seminars and conferences.
It helps to strengthen their backgrounds and increase their profitability. System Offices encourage all employees to utilize the Systems policy on employee training. Administrators are encouraged to hire and promote affirmative action objectives. Nowadays, the affirmative action is being debating as a part of the process of democracy.
Opponents said that nowadays whites are in an unfavorable situation. For example, if the white male has lost his chance to enter a college or a job he will be penalized unfairly. They say that individual minority has more advantages today than whites. Proponents of affirmative action argue that because of prior discrimination in education unemployment women and minorities are handicapped when they seek decent jobs, look for promotions or apply to good schools.
They believe that colleges and employees ought to give some sort of preferred treatment to minorities and women, either by seeking minority applicants or by setting up a quarter of jobs or school spaces reserved for them. Bibliography: Mail, Charles. (1999). Affirmative action requirements. Monthly Labor Review. Washington, Vol. 122, Iss. 1, Jan 1999. Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program (DVAAP).
Office of Personnel Management. Retrieved 11 April, 2007 from web Race-based affirmative action vs racial nondiscrimination: the moral dilemma. Curtis Crawford, Mar. 2004. Retrieved 11 April, 2007 from web "Sex Discrimination. " West's Encyclopedia of American Law.
The Gale Group, Inc, 1998. Answers. com 27 Mar. 2006. Retrieved 11 April, 2007 from web
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Research essay sample on Affirmative Action Programs Based On Race
