Ronald F. White, Ph.D. Professor of Philosophy College of Mount St. Joseph

General Electric’s Appliance Park Introduction

What is discrimination? Unfair treatment of individuals based on group association. Forms of Discrimination –Racial discrimination –Sexual discrimination –Age discrimination –Gay Discrimination –Ethnic discrimination

Areas Where Discrimination May Take Place Hiring Promotion Workplace behavior Workplace Rules Firing

Justice as Fairness: “Treat equals equally and unequals unequally.” –Patterned Theories (merit, equality, need, utility) –Unpatterned Theories (procedural justice) Opportunity and Barriers –Chance –Reasonable Chance –Guarantee Competition –Equality of Opportunity –Equality of Results Conceptual Framework

Just Distribution of Social Goods Individuals and Groups Sex, Race, Ethnicity –Natural basis –Social basis Role of Government –Public v. private initiatives –Legality v. morality Specific Forms of AA –Good Faith –Numerical Quotas Merit Tests (SATs, ACTs, Civil Service Tests, etc.) Issues

Stakeholder Theorists Positive Rights Rights-Based (Backward Looking: Retribution) Historical Discrimination –Women –African Americans –Native Americans –Latino-Americans –Retribution (Backward Looking) Utilitarian Arguments (Forward Looking) –Utility of Diverse Workplace Arguments in Favor of Affirmative Action

Arguments Against Affirmative Action Stockholder Theorists –Liberty of Owners of Company –Negative Rights Reverse Discrimination Problems with Groups Problems with rectification –Justice between generations Utilitarian Arguments

Small Group Discussion Questions What is Affirmative Action? What are the moral principles involved? Is AA ever morally justified? Explain the following: –Equality –Discrimination Racial, Tribal, Ethnic, Sex, Religious, Class –Forward-Looking AA –Backward-Looking AA –Reverse Discrimination –

Small Group Questions Is governmentally enforced affirmative action ever justified? –Racial Discrimination –Sexual Discrimination –Age Discrimination Is reverse discrimination ever morally justified? Is it avoidable? Are the following employment areas discriminatory? Is affirmative action justified? –Major League Baseball (Latino Players) –Basketball (African American Players) –Hockey (White Players) –Engineering (China, India, Middle East) –Nursing (female) –Police Departments (males) –Fire Departments (males) –College and University Presidents (white males) –Corporate CEOs (white males) Are College and University admission policies sometimes discriminatory? If so, is Affirmative action sometimes justified? –Primary and Secondary Schools (Public and/or Private) –Colleges and Universities (Public and/or Private, Exclusive and/or non-Exclusive –Are any of the following favorable admissions criteria discriminatory: Athletes, Alumni, Poor