Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action

HRM2020 Human Resource Law and Ethics

Denise Wright

March 20, 2008 

Affirmative Action

The debate over affirmative action is a debate over the conflict of rights. This conflict of rights makes a clear-cut ruling or decision on the subject almost unattainable. However, there can be arguments made both for and against affirmative action.

From its beginning in the United States in the 1960’s, affirmative action has been highly controversial. Critics charge that affirmative action policies, which gives preferential treatment to people based on their membership in a group. They also argue that it is unfair to discriminate against members of one group today to compensate for discrimination against other groups in the past. They regard affirmative action as s form of reverse discrimination that unfairly prevents whites and men from being hired and promoted.

Introduction

Affirmative action is a policy used in the United States to increase opportunities for minorities by favoring them in hiring and promotion, college admissions, and the awarding of government contracts. Depending upon the situation, minorities might include any underrepresented group, especially one defined by race, ethnicity, or gender. (Moreno) Generally, affirmative action has been undertaken by governments, businesses, or educational institutions to remedy the effects of past prejudice against a group, whether by a specific entity, such as a corporation, or by society as a whole.

Legal barriers prevented blacks and other racial minorities in the United States from entering many jobs and educational institutions until the mid-1960’s. (Porter) Although women were rarely legally barred from jobs and education, many universities would not admit them and many employers would not hire them. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and employment, was the first modern legislation to address these barriers. (Cousens)...