Todays Topics

1
Todays Topics

• Mid Term Post Mortem
• Discuss Liberty, Equality, Justice and Difference
• Discuss Affirmative Action
• Discuss Diversity in the Workplace (Women
  Workers)

2
A Reality Check About Discrimination in America
Today

• DWB
• Higher employment rates for whites
• Males earn more than females
• Job dominance by race and gender
• Persistent stories of blatant discrimination

3
Puncturing A Few Myths About Affirmative Action

• Middle class and professional white women are the
  largest beneficiaries of affirmative action.
• Have black males have not benefited much at the
  expense of white males.

4
Liberty, Equality, Justice, and Difference

• How do we achieve equality in the face of
  significant differences?
• Justice means treating like cases alike, but when
  are two cases alike?

5
Crucial Assumption--Talent is Roughly Equally
Distributed by Race and Gender
6
The Realities of Difference

• Important physical performance differences
  between genders
• Important cognitive performance differences
  between genders
• Important cognitive performance differences
  between races

7
Race Is a Suspect Concept (and a Suspect
Classification)
8
Race Is a Suspect Concept

• NO biological basis for our idea of race
• What is race? Hard cases in determining race
• Odd Racial Groups
• Mixed race as a governmental category

9
How Do We Interpret, Account For, And Remedy the
Mismatch Between Our Assumptions and the Reality
of Difference?
10
The Assumption of Merit--The Best Qualified
Person Should Win, Given a Fair Competition
11
The Assumption of Merit--The Best Qualified
Person Should Win, Given a Fair Competition

• Is Best Qualified a well-defined and well
  understood idea?
• What makes a competition fair?

12
Assumptions that Underlie the Concept of the
Best Qualified
13
Assumptions that Underlie the Concept of the
Best Qualified

• Job qualifications can be specified exactly
• There is a univocal scale that ranks people
• Both are dubious, if not false

14
What Makes a Competition Fair?
15
What Makes a Competition Fair? Equality of
Opportunity
16
Two Views of Equal Opportunity
17
Two Views of Equal Opportunity

• Equality of Process--the restrictive view
• Equality of Results--the expansive view

18
Equality of Process

• A society of color blind equal opportunity
• The California Civil Rights Initiative--prohibits
  the use of race, sex, color, ethnicity and
  national origin for discrimination against or
  preferential treatment of any person. . .

19
Equality of Result

• With a fair process, the results should roughly
  match population demographics
• You dont starve somebody for a month, break
  both legs, put him at the starting line and say
  May the best man win! Lyndon B. Johnson

20
How Do We Explain the Observed Differences? Is
Society, or Government, Responsible (past
discrimination)?
21
Possible Responses to Imposed or Created
Inequality

• Use different standards for different groups
• Race norming
• Take Affirmative Action to remedy the inequality
• Do nothing

22
Is Affirmative Action Morally Permissible?

• Pojman--NO
• Hettinger--YES, though it is problematic

23
Pojman--Affirmative Action is Morally
Impermissible

• Define terms--Equal Opportunity and Affirmative
  Action

24
Equal Opportunity

• Everyone has a fair chance at the best positions.
  Only native aptitude and effort enter into the
  decision.
• Special policies

25
Affirmative Action

• to remedy past injustices
• Weak Affirmative Action--eliminating formal
  barriers, increasing minority representation in
  an applicant pool, using race as a tie-breaker
• Strong Affirmative Action--reverse
  discrimination, preferences, set asides.

26
Arguments For Affirmative Action

• Role Models
• Need to Break Stereotypes
• Equal Results
• Compensation for Past Injustices

• Compensation from those who benefited
• Diversity as a Primary Good
• Anti-Meritocratic Position

27
Role Models
28
Need To Break Stereotypes
29
Equal Results
30
Compensation for Past Injustice
31
Compensation from Those Who Have Benefited from
Past Injustice
32
Diversity as a Primary Good
33
Anti-Meritocratic Position
34
Anti-Meritocratic Position

• Recall Rawls on the natural lottery

35
Against Affirmative Action

• Reverse Discrimination is Still Wrong
• Perpetuates Victim Syndrome
• Encourages Mediocrity and Incompetence

• Unjustly Shifts Burden of Proof
• Meritocracy
• Slippery Slope
• It Just Doesnt work

36
Discrimination, Reverse or Otherwise, is Wrong
37
Perpetuating the Victim Syndrome
38
Encourages Mediocrity and Incompetence
39
Unjustly Shifts Burden of Proof
40
Meritocracy
41
The Slippery Slope
42
Affirmative Action Just Does Not Work
43
Additional Arguments Against

• Economically inefficient
• Unfair to those not selected
• Rewards an individual for membership in a
  disadvantaged group, even though the individual
  might not be disadvantaged

44
Hettinger--Affirmative Action IS Morally Justified
45
Bad Arguments Against Affirmative Action

• AA is equivalent to Racism or Sexism
• Race and Sex are Always Irrelevant
• Stereotypes
• AA is Unjust

46
Affirmative Action is NOT Equivalent to Racism or
Sexism
47
Affirmative Action is NOT Equivalent to Racism or
Sexism

• Motives matter
• Results differ radically

48
Race and Sex are Sometimes Relevant
Characteristics
49
Race and Sex are Sometimes Relevant
Characteristics

• Special Job requirements
• Mission

50
Affirmative Action and Stereotyping

• Works ONLY against the compensatory justice
  defense

51
Affirmative Action Is NOT Unjust
52
Affirmative Action Is NOT Unjust

• Efficiency

53
Affirmative Action Is NOT Unjust

• Efficiency
• Best Qualified has a Right to the job

54
Affirmative Action Is NOT Unjust

• Efficiency
• Best Qualified has a Right to the job
• Best Qualified deserves the job

55
Affirmative Action Is NOT Unjust

• Efficiency
• Best Qualified has a Right to the job
• Best Qualified deserves the job
• Best Qualified is entitled to the job

56
Bad Arguments Against Affirmative Action

• AA is equivalent to Racism or Sexism
• Race and Sex are Always Irrelevant
• Stereotypes
• AA is Unjust

57
Good Arguments Against Affirmative Action

• Judgment on Involuntary Characteristics
• Burdens without compensation

58
Judgment on Involuntary Characteristics
59
Burdens Without Compensation
60
Despite the Legitimate Arguments Against
Affirmative Action, The Benefits Outweigh The
Costs
61
Diversity in the Workplace--The New Role of Women
62
There is a Tension Between the Value of Work and
the Value of Family
63
Family is a Business Issue

• 70 of women with children 6-17 work outside the
  home
• American business relies of female labor
• Ignoring family issues threatens productivity

64
Four Reasons to Make Family Values a Business
Value

• Changing demographics
• Employee perceptions and expectations are changing

65
Four Reasons to Make Family Values a Business
Value

• Changing demographics
• Employee perceptions and expectations are
  changing
• The mommy track
• Competing biological and career clocks

66
Four Reasons to Make Family Values a Business
Value

• Changing demographics
• Employee perceptions and expectations are
  changing
• Inflexibility adversely affects productivity
• Concern for children and child rearing is growing

67
How to Make Family Friendly Businesses

• Dependent care
• More flexible work conditions
• Flex time and part time work
• Job sharing
• Validate family values in corporate mission

68
Fecundity Varies Inversely with Education and
Income

• 66 of all female CEOs under 40 are childless.
  Over 90 of all male CEOs under 40 are fathers.
• Is maternity leave a strike against a female
  worker? WHY?
• Equality in the face of difference

69
DuPont is committed to making changes in the
workplace and fostering changes in the community
that are sensitive to the changing family unit
and the increasingly diverse work force.
70
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

• It still happens and is a very real problem
• What it is differs from situation to situation

71
Sexual Harassment is bothering Someone in a
Sexual Way When that Person Didnt Ask for And
Doesnt Want Sexual Attention
72
The Attitude of the Recipient of the Attention
Determines Whether the Conduct Is Harassing
73
Kinds of Sexual Harassment

• Quid Pro Quo
• Hostile environment
• Favoritism
• Non-employee

74
Employers Have a Moral and Legal Duty to Develop
Policies Against Sexual Harassment and Remedies
for It
75
It Still Happens

• Second Class Status in Higher Education

76
Women In Higher Education

• Fewer tenure track jobs
• Granted tenure at lower rates than men
• Double standards of evaluation
• Lower rates of publication

77
It Still Happens

• Second Class Status in Higher Education
• Forklift Systems v. Harris
• EEOC vs. Sears and Johnson Controls

78
Dilemmas of Feminism
79
Varieties of Feminism

• Equality feminism (traditional view)
• Difference feminism

80
Difference Feminism

• Carol Gilligan and womens moral knowledge
• Sandra Harding and womens ways of knowing

81
Varieties of Feminism

• Equality feminism (traditional view)
• Difference feminism
• Separatist (lesbian) feminism

82
Equality Feminism Forces Women to Adopt Male
Views of the World
83
Difference Feminism Can Be Used to Disadvantage
Women
84
Other Issues With Changing Demographics
85
Other Issues With Changing Demographics

• Love (and sex) in the workplace

86
Other Issues With Changing Demographics

• Love (and sex) in the workplace
• Married workers

87
Other Issues With Changing Demographics

• Love (and sex) in the workplace
• Married workers
• Multiple standards of acceptable behavior