What is Affirmative Action

1
What is Affirmative Action

• Appeared in Kennedys time
• Referred to the measures designed to eliminate
  discrimination in employment
• Became an umbrella term for all minority groups

2
What is Affirmative Action

• Programmes developed in education and employment
• Aim to give all Americans regardless of race or
  ethnicity the same opportunities to progress
  towards the American Dream
• positive policies include taking out adverts in
  newspapers read by a particular community,
  sending speakers out to schools with high
  minorities

3
Affirmative Action Programmes

• After 1954 Brown V board of education the states
  had to desegregate all educational facilities
• It was argued that these programmes would provide
  a mechanism allowing African Americans to achieve
  the American Dream

4
AA Programmes

• From the very beginning a distinction was drawn
  between affirmative action and quotas but this
  has caused confusion and disagreement

• AA requires employers to aim for racially
  balanced workforces BUT not at the expense of
  more qualified workers
• How can this be achieved?

5
AA Programmes

• Supporters of these programmes argue that firms,
  colleges, universities etc should attempt to
  achieve a racial balance by adopting fairer
  employment procedures that give minorities an
  equal chance to get on in education and work.

6
Quota Systems

• Quota systems go quite a bit further than this.
• Quotas require companies colleges etc to have
  certain numbers of minorities irrespective of
  their suitability or qualifications
• In theory the distinction then is clear but in
  practice it is far less so.

7
Quota Systems

• The Bakke decision in 1978 ruled that it is
  reverse discrimination and unconstitutional to
  set quotas for minorities at the expense of
  qualified whites
• Goals or targets of a particular group however
  may be set and diversity could be taken into
  account
• These are only wish lists they cannot be
  enforced

8
The beginning of confusion

• During the Nixon administration the line was
  crossed between quotas and affirmative action
• This was because progress was proving very slow
  for African Americans
• Nixon set targets and goals, essentially firms
  were rewarded for employing minorities
  (especially blacks)

9
Positive Discrimination in Action

• It is possibly the quota type system rather than
  affirmative action programmes themselves which
  people were sceptical about.
• Since the late 70s there has been a move away
  from this system

10
The 1980s

• The Regan administration tried to overturn
  affirmative action programmes
• This led to a lot of bitterness from ethnic
  minorities towards the Republicans

11
The Clinton Years

• Clinton (a staunch Democrat) tried to rekindle AA
  programmes but he recognised that the system had
  to be seen to be fairer to all
• In 1991 the Civil Rights Act was passed. This
  reaffirmed the Federal Government commitment to
  affirmative action
• However quota systems are not meant to be part of
  this.

mend it but dont end it
12
Recent reaction to AA

• In 2001 the Federal Court of Appeals upheld AA
  but showed its ambivalence by ruling the
  university of Georgias policy as
  unconstitutional because it did not take account
  of other factors e.g. talent only racial diversity

13
Do they work?

• Many find the official policy somewhat confusing
• Companies are instructed to strive for racial
  balance in the workplace while avoiding reverse
  discrimination

• In 1991 race norming was outlawed where black
  students scores are compared then adjusted
  upwards to match white students
• However critics say avoiding reverse
  discrimination is impossible

14
Do they work?

• President Bush has described affirmative action
  as resembling "quota systems that... exclude
  people from higher education... are divisive,
  unfair and impossible to square with the
  constitution".
• Quotas have been ruled illegal
• How can the principles of AA be advanced without
  alienating or discriminating against other groups?