Exploring Affirmative Action as a Societal Issue

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The policy of affirmative action was created to promote equal opportunity in the workfield, however the policy has its own issues as it has produced lots of controversies since its inception. In particular, opponents of Affirmative action argues against the real effects of affirmative action and skeptical whether societal disparities in employment opportunities and incomes were simply the outcome of socioeconomic labelling, hence the effectiveness of affirmative action to address the disparities was also brought into questioning. Moreover the policy is also controversial in that it does, to a certain extent, exert discriminatory racial tension because it discriminates against non-minority groups. Therefore this essay will discuss some of the issues related to the controversial policy as well as explore some of the underlying causes of the policy and assessment of some of its measured benefits. There has been a long history of racial prejudice in the United States. However the concept of affirmative action is first introduced back during the Roosevelt administration, in its appearance of the Wagner Act, during the midst of the Great Depression (Tomasson et al 126). Historically affirmative action focused on helping black citizens overcome the effects of prior discrimination and segregation (Ciocchetti and Holcomb 2010). Early plans attacked racial barriers obstructing employment opportunities and contract rights. However the implementation of affirmative action programs does not really gain momentum until the subsequent Richard Nixon’s administration period (Fauntroy 2009). It is explained that the affirmative action programs are implemented in response to the presidential speech made by Richard Nixon (Fauntroy 2009). Spe... ... middle of paper ... ... 47, No. 4. (Jul. - Aug., 1976), pp. 413- 435 Sander, Richard; Taylor, Stuart (2012)“The Unraveling of Affirmative Action” Wall Street Journal Oct 13, 2012 Fryer, Roland G. Jr., and Glenn C. Loury. 2005. "Affirmative Action and Its Mythology." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19(3): 147-162. Skrentny, John D (1996)The Ironies of Affirmative Action: Politics, Culture, and Justice in America Chicago, The University of Chicago Press Bergmann, Barbara (1997) In Defense of Affirmative Action New York, Perseus Book Press Wood, Amy “Affirmative Action: Overcoming Disparities Yields Economic Benefits” Journal of the Southern Regional Council, Vol 20 No1, 1998 pp 12-15 Ciocchetti, C.A.; Holcomb, J “The Frontier of Affirmative Action: Employment Preferences & Diversity in the Private Workplace” 2010 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law Vol 12:2

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