Affirmative Action Madeline Hesselgrave PDF

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Affirmative Action

Madeline Hesselgrave Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University JUS-202: Professional Responsibility in Justice Pernell Witherspoon November 29, 2020

2 Affirmative Action In the 1960’s affirmative action was implemented, it was created in a time filled with segregation and discrimination. Affirmative action is the favoring of individuals who belong to groups that have been previously discriminated against. Affirmative action policies were applied to many different situations including discrimination in employment and education (Jackson, 2019). The purpose of these policies was to increase diversity, give everyone an equal opportunity to work and be educated, and to eliminate systemic discrimination. Civil rights groups have been fighting for equal opportunity for decades. Affirmative action helps acknowledge the diversity of the communities people live in. America is a very diverse country filled with immigrants and people of different ethnic backgrounds, races, religions, and sexual orientations, having affirmative action allows for people to see that they are important to this country, and they should be treated equally. It shows that America is trying to beat the racism that is ever present in many communities, “The hope is that a temporary affirmative action program that enhances diversity and reduces inequality can persistently alter outcomes that unfairly disadvantage under-represented groups” (Miller, 2019). Affirmative action was created to help end systemic discrimination and it has been meeting this goal. It was created in a time of immense segregation and discrimination and taking a look at where America is now with these issues it is easy to see how successful it has been. There are people of many different races who are lawyers, doctors, and scientist professions many people believed they would never be able to have, especially back then. America has come a long way since the 1960’s but there is still room for growth. Affirmative action still has a ways to go, there is still many racial profiling issues as well as discrimination in the workplace in regards to race, ethnicity, and gender. The wage gap between men and women is a very present

3 issue in America, white women make $.79 for every $1 men make and even worse Latina women make $.54 for every $1 men make (Bleiweis, 2020). Closing the wage gap would be a huge milestone for America and for affirmative action. An even bigger deal for the United States would be the end of systemic discrimination, there is still a lot of injustice and prejudice against people of color and as seen in the summer of 2020 people will not stand for this to continue. In the summer of 2020 there were many protests and marches for the Black Lives Matter movement, people were demanding justice and equality for people who have been discriminated against since the creation of America. Like any policy created affirmative action has its downfalls. Affirmative action promotes reverse discrimination, this means giving a person preference over another because they are a minority. This reinforces stereotypes showing that minority stereotypes exist. In other words out of a group of people who are qualified for a job with affirmative action minorities including women and people of color are inferior to men. With this being said there is often an attitude of superiority from majority groups, specifically white males. White men have been given every opportunity possible because of their skin color and gender, America was built by white men who did what they could to get what they wanted, and that has not changed today. Now many white men can be humble but a large majority believes they are superior. Diversity can be bad and good it depends on the intent it is being used for. Having diversity just for the sake of diversity can be harmful, if someone is hired based simply on them being a minority and not their qualifications it can be harmful to a workplace (Sigelman, 1997). When diversifying a place there needs to be good intentions and purpose behind it. Accountability standards are changed with affirmative action. Having equality means every person gets the same chance and the same treatment. Affirmative action focuses on socioeconomic problems when it should be focused on

4 creating better education opportunities for people. It diminishes the achievements gained by minorities. If someone gets a job because of affirmative action and not based on their talent and skills it does not feel like an achievement for that individual. Affirmative action does not really help with the creation of positive interpersonal relationships. There are a large amount of people who have a disdain for people of color and there is not simply a program to be put in place that can change someone’s racist thoughts. There are some people that think businesses only put up with people of color, so they will not get in legal trouble or have the news call them out for being racist (Miller, 2019). Affirmative action does help people learn how to interact with people of different races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations that they might not always interact with on a daily basis. Overall, affirmative action has had a positive impact on the American society, but America has a long way to grow before systemic discrimination is no more. The positives of affirmative action vastly outweigh the negative. Although no amount of programs can change the fact that there is a huge issue with racism in this country, America has come a long way.

5 References Bleiweis, R. (2020, March 24). Quick facts about the gender wage gap. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/03/24/482141/quick-factsgender-wage-gap/ Jackson, C. C. (2019). Affirmative action. Salem press encyclopedia. https://search-ebscohostcom.lopes.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=96397094&site=edslive&scope=site Lee Sigelman. (1997). The public and disadvantage-based affirmative action: an early assessment. Social Science Quarterly, 78(4), 1011. https://search-ebscohostcom.lopes.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx? direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.42863746&site=eds-live&scope=site Miller, C. (2019). Affirmative action and its persistent effects: a new perspective. California Management Review, 61(3), 19–33. https://doiorg.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/0008125619849443...