Affirmative Action
Between the two readings there were two very different attitudes on the topic of affirmative action. In the Ore reading, Reskin seemed to be more optimistic than the article in the Annual Reviews.
In the Ore reading, Reskin addresses the most troubling aspect of AA, "reverse discrimination", she points out the evidence that shows that whites' fears of reverse discrimination are exaggerated. "Only 5-12% of whites believe that their race has cost them a job or promotion, compared to 36% of African Americans". Affirmative action has benefited employers by increasing productivity, improved hiring proceudres, improved marketing, and increase stock prices. Importantly, affirmative action has increased the pools of skilled minorites and female workers which brings services to communities that are usually underserved such as physicians and role models.
Affirmative action encourages practices such as, targeted recruitment, open advertising, monitoring diversity, job training and educational assitance designed to allow minorities to compete as individuals (396).
In the online article, Reskin takes on a negative view on affirmative action. Reskin states that AA has created protected groups. The primary objective of AA was to protect African Americans but instead they only protect groups that have the minimal impact on academic standards. Colleges and universities started to require SAT or ACT tests for admission, whites and Asian applicants tend to outscore blacks and Hispanics, therefore these standardized test reduced blacks' and Hispanics' chances of admissions (362). Some believe that AA puts minority students in competition with better prepared whites, raising minorities dropout rates (363).
I believe that affirmative action is a good way to alleviate racial and gender inequality in higher education and in the work place if used effectively. I do not believe in the "quotas" that some companies use to maintain their diversity level because it is discrimination. I think that when an applicant gets added points for being a minority is not discrimination because it addresses the issues of white privilige. The extra points will help balance all of the other points that a white applicant would have such as extra curricular activities that a minority would not have resources to. I believe that I am in college today because of affirmative action, it's nice to feel advantaged for being a minority rather than being a disadvantaged.
1. Does the benefits out the cons? Do you believe that affirmative action is alleviating racial and gender inequality or is it just promoting it?
2. Are there any other solutions that higher education and employers should use to alleviate inequality?
Comments
I believe there are alternative solutions to lessen inequality in the workplace, though maybe difficult to enforce.
If our institutions of authority place a higher importance on equality in all areas, I think it will naturally affect the workplace in a positive manner. As is, we don't act on the major differences in the quality of life for both whites and African Americans. For example, we know that African Americans tend to live homogenously in areas of high poverty, yet we do barely anything to resolve that. As a result, our attitudes towards those differences also seep into areas such as work, thus creating a need for Affirmative Action. If we look more at the core of this issue like this, I think it will fix other areas as well.
Posted by: Matt K. | April 10, 2007 10:41 AM