Affirmative Action Examples

From the time the US Supreme Court started ruling against implementing racial quotas for education or hiring, several affirmative action measures have reduced discrimination in retention and recruiting. These programs are structured to identify and change the barriers that hinder underrepresented groups, such as African Americans, women, Asian Americans, and Native Americans, from professional and educational opportunities.

To ensure equal developmental and educational opportunities for all students and employees, the government has motivated organizations and universities to implement an estimate of action plan. As per the federal guidelines, universities and organizations must update affirmative action plans once a year.

Understanding Affirmative Action

Affirmative action is a policy that focuses on enhancing educational and workplace opportunities for underrepresented people in different areas of society. Moreover, it ends on demographics, with low representation, historically in professional and leadership roles. Mostly, it is considered a strategy for reducing discrimination against certain groups.

Governments and businesses implement affirmative action policies by considering the religion, race, sex, or national origin of an individual while hiring. Affirmative actions have been used widely in educational settings in the United States, majorly in college admissions. However, in the 2023 ruling of Students for Fair Admissions, Harvard, the Supreme Court announced that universities and colleges cannot take race into account as a certain basis to grant admission.

Key Highlights:

• Affirmative action aims to reduce historical trends of discrimination against particular groups of individuals with specific identities.
• Policies implementing hiring quotas, scholarships, and providing grants can also deny government contracts and funding to institutions that do not follow the policy guidelines.
• Affirmative action consists of assistance for people with disabilities, gender representation, and covered veterans.

Importance of Affirmative Action

Affirmative actions promote a highly equitable experience for under-recognized people. This initiative began to promote equal opportunities for people across all genders and races. Moreover, the additional equal employment opportunity laws laid protections to restrict discrimination and equal pay on the basis of disability or age.

The discussion focuses on whether the measures provide equality, reducing inequality in the hiring and treatment of under-recognized groups in the organizations.

Affirmative Actions Examples

Affirmative actions came into application in the 1960s. Regardless of the lack of progress during the ruling by legal authorities, such as the hindrance caused by the Supreme Court. Some examples of affirmative action include:

• President Lyndon B Johnson, in 1965, issued Executive Order 11246. This order needed all the government subcontractors and contractors to offer job opportunities to minorities. To enforce the order, it also established an office of federal contract compliance.
• The Labor Department, in 1970, authorized and ordered flexible timetables and goals to consider the underutilization of minorities by federal contractors. Moreover, women were included in this order in 1971.
• The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was signed by President Richard M Nixon. It ordered agencies to provide an affirmative action plan, including the placement, hiring and advancement of people with disabilities to the EEOC.
• In 1983, an executive order 12432 was issued by President Ronald Reagan. This order needed each federal agency with grant-making authority or substantial procurement to develop a minority business enterprise development plan.
• President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, and he also signed the Civil Rights Act in 1991.
• The US Senate and the US House of Representatives rejected the attempts to disqualify specific affirmative action programs in 1998. However, the abolishment of the disadvantaged business enterprise program was prohibited by both houses of Congress. Moreover, the house also refused to grant the elimination of affirmative action in higher education programs admission, funded through the Higher Education Act.
• The Wall Street Journal reported in 2022 that many major US companies, including Alphabet, Apple, General Motors, and American Airlines, were requesting the Supreme Court to support the continuous use of affirmative action policies in college admissions. They urged that increased diversity on college campuses resulted in continuous innovation in successful business endeavors and commerce.

Conclusion

Affirmative actions resulted in offering diversified education and employment opportunities for under-recognized groups of people who were earlier discriminated against based on caste, religion, color and gender. With the rising opportunities of career and education, prepare yourself well for each step ahead with Turito, an online learning platform. Not only does this platform prepare you for school or college exams, but it also offers professional-level learning courses to hone your skills and knowledge.

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