Affirmative Action Pros And Cons

1008 Words5 Pages

When considering the aspects of Affirmative Action, we must first look at what the intent of the Executive Order was in 1961. Among the racial divide this order’s purpose was to simply give a fair or better chance to minorities than before. The minorities have been long shut out of the workforce and educational systems in the past. President Kennedy’s order aims to end the long drawn out era of discrimination in the work force and education systems (Kurtulus, 2013). Many people against the idea of affirmative action claim it creates “reverse racism”. This term is loosely defined as racism against the majority in these previously discusses systems (Plous, 2003). Many disagreeing parties have tried to bring cases and revision to affirmative action …show more content…

Many government agencies and other specialized agencies have reported how affirmative action has increased the unemployment and work force representation of minorities and women of all races (Plous, 2003). The opposite applies to the states that have repealed affirmative action in the near past. The main demographic that declined was black women. This increased over time as these advantages of the white population pushed out minorities. Over the states that banned affirmative action white men had an almost immediate 4.7% increase (Kurtulus, 2013). These bans show that the advantages still will follow the majority no matter what “present even playing field” is claimed. Even though minorities have the same rights as the majority, the opportunity across the board is still very slim compared to the majority. In the states who have kept the Executive Order, they have reached out looking for more qualified women and minority employees to better their diversity. This causes a rise in diversity in the state and the business (NWLC, 2000). Even though women in general have been elevated, affirmative action still lacks on equating minority women with white women. Unfortunately, this can be traced back to the white population having a huge advantage over the minority population. Even though women had to wait for equality to men. White women still had better rights than black men at some point …show more content…

It seems fit that we move along with the trend of practicing these policies to not only increase diversity but decrease discrimination. Affirmative action can also boost morale as it has done for many companies (Plous, 2003). This trend will lead to a more effective labour division and better work environment for all our employees. The policies also will lead to a positive outcome if the demographics of the company were ever audited. Also awareness and educational aspects of cultures unlike our own can open our eyes. It can lead to understanding and accepting other that are different than us. This also can lead to discrimination awareness. With more diversity, the more minority issues are discussed in the workplace or school. This leads to better discrimination awareness and that ultimately leads to the removal of discrimination in the workplace and our lives. Affirmative action is here to prevent society from moving into another era of racism and discrimination. As the majority begins to dominate in the work force, less minorities are given opportunities (Kurtulus, 2013). Another downfall of not using or encouraging affirmative action is the governmental side. If we are audited on our demographics and, they aren’t up to par we can be fined. Generally going with the right decision and not being fined would be the best option and it