The Need for Affirmative Action
Affirmative action was for the first time mentioned in the Executive order number ten thousand, nine hundred and twenty five in the United States. It was signed by President J. F Kennedy on sixth March nineteen sixty one as a measure to counter discrimination in the United States. President L. B Johnson issued Executive order number eleven thousand, two hundred and forty six in the year nineteen sixty five. This Executive order required federal contractors to hire with disregard to religion, race or national origin. An amendment to affirmative action added gender to this list of anti-discrimination. In Canada, affirmative action is referred to as employment equity, in India as reservation and in the United Kingdom as positive discrimination.
The key intention for affirmative action is to create equivalent opportunity for all people from different backgrounds. It is employed to ensure that minority groups in the society are included and adequately represented in all programs in most cases in the government and the education sector. Its justification is that it helps to compensate for the past discrimination, exploitation and/or persecution by perceived superior race, religion or gender. It also addresses existing discrimination.
The American Association for Affirmative Action executive director, Shirley Wilcher says the society is still not colorblind. Although thera is a perception that the society at present is a post-racial civilization, discrimination is still present. Affirmative action is the cure for discrimination. Therefore the need for affirmative action in the society today is forthcoming since discrimination is still in existence. The necessity for affirmative action is supported by two main factors. They include the necessity to counter the effects of present discrimination and the need to offer compensation for the effects of past discrimination.
The call for affirmative action is necessitated by the presence of neo-racism. Racism still occurs today whether consciously or unconsciously. Conscious racism or overt racism was demonstrated by the Ku Klux Klan, the Jim Crow segregations and the Lynching. Today skin color is still a reason for discrimination. Executive director for American Association for Affirmative Action, Shirley Wilcher speaking at the annual equity opportunity and diversity conference told a personal experience in Chicago where she had a taxi driver speed off after realizing it was not a white woman rather a black woman hailing him.
Discrimination in the Workplace
A recent survey done with college students with the same resume and qualifications revealed that forty one percent more whites than blacks get employed. It also showed a seventeen percent difference in salary between the black and white recruits. The O. J Simpson trial was also a representation of conscious racism. O. J’s race determined the jury and the black prosecution attorney. Unconscious racism is as a result of involuntary reactions and the subsequent provocative subconscious responses that are as a result of stereotype assumptions. These assumptions are such as assuming all Asians are martial artists or that all black people are lazy or love chicken and cheese.
In the professional scenes, it has been noted that different race reflects on how competence in the job is perceived. A white worker is considered competent until proven otherwise while a black worker is considered incompetent until proven otherwise. This kind of discrimination also affects different genders in recruiting since some jobs are considered strictly suitable for men or for women. Therefore affirmative action should be retained to keep discrimination in check especially in the employment sector.
Equal employment opportunities law aims to create standardized recruitment, remuneration, promotion and training system for all workers. It advocates for workers to be employed, paid, promoted and trained in respect to their skills, abilities and responsibilities. Workplace discrimination comes about when a worker is treated unfavorably by colleagues or by the employer. Equal employment opportunities may not sufficiently curb workplace discrimination since discrimination at the workplace occurs in different forms. There are diverse avenues that lead to workplace discrimination.
Workers may be discriminated upon because of age, race, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic background, color or nationality. Marital status and/or pregnancy may also be a reason for discrimination. Therefore, the availability of enough job opportunities does not mean that workplace discrimination is sufficiently eliminated. Examples of discrimination include where a male worker is paid more than a female counterpart to perform the same job. It could also happen when or a minority ethnic worker is denied training or promotional opportunities offered to those perceived to be from a superior ethnic background.
There are diverse varieties of workplace discrimination. These include; direct discrimination, where an employee may be treated unfavorably or denied an opportunity in favor of another due to any of the reasons mentioned above. One such occasion is when an employer prefers a male employee over a female employee for a driver’s job. There are a few occasions when an employer is allowed to restrict occupational requirements example where a catholic school may require a baptized catholic for the job of a scripture teacher.
Indirect discrimination occurs where a working condition or new rule disadvantages a cluster of workers while giving unfair advantage to others. This is as unlawful as direct discrimination even when it is not done on purpose. It is only permitted if it is extremely essential for the proper running of the business. For example, a condition or rule may require applicants or a worker to dress in certain way that may not favor some religious believes. This condition may be allowed only if the mode of dressing is absolutely necessary for business.
Another type of discrimination in the workplace is harassment. Harassment is intimidating or offensive behavior, racial abuse or sexist language aimed at undermining, humiliating or psychologically injuring the targeted person. A person may be treated unfairly by an employer or by a colleague after making a complaint against them about harassment or another case of discrimination. This is known as victimization. It is mostly perpetrated by people in higher ranks against those in lower ranks. Victimization leads to further harassment and discrimination.
In conclusion, Affirmative action aims at creating equal employment opportunities for everyone. It has helped purge inequity in relation to the recruitment process. Even so, this has not completely eliminated the issue of discrimination in the workplace. Discrimination is generally unlawful but in some cases exceptions can be made. Discrimination in salaries is allowed in cases of difference in skills and experience even when the job specifications are similar. Racism nowadays is more individual than before it may end only when individuals change their perspective of others. Affirmative action may help a lot in dealing with discrimination generally.
References
Dessler, G. (2010). Human Resource Management, Twelfth Edition . Florida : Pearson College Division.
