Affirmative Action Misconceptions and Rethinking By: Kenneth Solis

What is Affirmative Action? Policies designed to remedy the underrepresentation of minority groups in the work place. (Harris & Narayan, 2000) Minority groups transcend ethnicity and encompass gender as well. Affirmative action is not specific to one sex or ethnicity.

Affirmative Action Case Affirmative Action (A.A.) is not the only factor in hiring decisions, nor is it specific to black applicants Diana Joyce, a white woman, as an A.A. beneficiary Johnson v. Transportation – Transportation agency adopted A.A. to remedy the underrepresentation of women in leadership – Diana Joyce was given a leadership role over Paul Johnson because she is a woman – Court upheld this A.A. decision because sex is only one factor among many in this hiring decision

Rethinking Affirmative Action “Affirmative action is an attempt to promote equality of opportunity in a social context marked by pervasive inequality.” (132) A.A. fights against discrimination such as: – Statistical discrimination: discrimination based on statistical information rather than an individual’s achievements. – Sex stereotyping: women are thought to be less committed to jobs due to family obligations and less often employed and promoted

Rethinking A.A. cont. Affirmative action is not “compensation” or “payment” for past discrimination A.A. does not force overrepresented applicants to “pay the price” A.A. does not give preference to applicants less qualified Applicants must meet qualification criteria regardless of underrepresented status

Conclusion The stigma behind Affirmative Action programs exists because of the belief that A.A. means preferential treatment. A.A. simply creates equal opportunity for evaluation of already qualified applicants to be considered Assuming only non-beneficiaries of A.A. are truly qualified is discriminatory in itself.