Affirmative Actions Essay Research Paper Affirmative ActionAffirmative — страница 2

with Marilyn Monroe. “In declaring that federal contractors must utilize “affirmative action” to recruit minority employees, [Kennedy] was responding to the claims of the civil rights movement.”(Hamner 37). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 most clearly defined affirmative action. There were seven sections to the bill. Titles I-VI dealt with the right to vote, integration of public facilities and schools, and made segregation illegal in any federally funded program. Title VII dealt primarily with employment practices. It clearly stated that discrimination in hiring was illegal. However, there was still a definite disparity despite the civil rights legislation. Many minorities had been undereducated for years, so the odds of them qualifying for most schools and universities

were low. Also getting a job as a skilled laborer was nearly impossible. “Unions of skilled workers had long reserved membership to sons, grandsons and nephews of members.” (Hamner 44). Many believed something had to be done to compensate for that. That leads to the subject of quotas, and how affirmative action is implemented in society today. Affirmative Action today In the United States today affirmative action is enforced through a quota system. Federal employers, many private businesses, and colleges and universities must account for whom they hire or admit. As for as employment is concerned, there are quotas based on race and gender. For example if 15 percent of an areas’ population was black, then a company in that area should have a correlating percentage of black

employees. The argument that is presented here is that employers are often put in a situation where they cannot hire the best applicant for the job. Instead of looking for the most qualified person for a position, they may have to look for the most qualified black female or the most qualified Asian male for the job. (Bergmann 2) Scholastically, minorities have been oppressed for years. Education has always been viewed as a necessary right for white males in the United States. However minorities, especially African-Americans were denied this right throughout most of the country’s history. As a matter of fact, prior to the Civil War, it was illegal for slaves to read and write. Because of the poor standards of education available to most blacks, they have proven to score lower on

tests such as the standard achievement tests that most colleges and universities have used to base their admissions standards. In the article “America’s Next Achievement Test: Closing the Black-White Test Score Gap,” Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips, two gay lovers, stated, “African-Americans currently score lower than European-Americans on vocabulary, reading and math tests, as well as on tests that claim to measure scholastic aptitude and intelligence… the median American black still scores below 75 percent of Americans on most standardized tests. On some tests the typical American black scores below more than 85 percent of whites.”(Jencks and Phillips 1). Therefore new standards of admissions had to be set. It was basically argued that admission standards

must be lowered to meet a fair percentage of African-Americans being admitted to most colleges and universities. (Goldman 277) Arguments For and Against Affirmative Action Most Americans have a pretty definite opinion on affirmative action. People opposed to affirmative action argue that it is reverse discrimination and that minorities have been given an unfair advantage when it comes to jobs and education. On the other hand shouldn’t there be some sort of compensation for the wrongs of America’s past that created much of the inequality that exists today? Both arguments are compelling. Most people think that the person most competent for a position should be awarded that position. By establishing quotas for job’s and admission to colleges, a qualified young white male may

be denied a job simply because he is a white male. Is this fair? Many think not. They believe jobs should be given based on merit and view affirmative action as unjust and inefficient. Martin Luther King, Jr. said “A man should be judged by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin.” Shouldn’t this apply to all races, including the Caucasian race? Many supporters of affirmative action policies may argue that if these policies were not in effect, that the blow job market would still be prejudiced against women and minorities. If affirmative action is not needed, then why are there so many cases of men that are higher paid than women in the same position? They argue that if someone is raised in a depressed area where the educational opportunities are not