affirmative action
... to you today on this subject because of my own personal interests and research concerning the subject. - I think it would be beneficial to all of us to take an interest and look into affirmative action, because it can directly or indirectly affect each of us. - In order to grasp an efficient understanding of affirmative action, you must understand (first of all) what exactly it is, how it came to existence in the United States, and how it is part of today’s society. - I’m going to begin here by giving you a general understanding of what affirmative action is. - By definition, affirmative action is any policy used to increase opportunities for minorities. These ‘minorities’ can be any type of underrepresented group, usually dealing with race, ethnicity, or gender. - Most affirmative action in the United States has been directed towards either the black race or women. Also, affirmative action has been used to favor minorities in 3 particular areas, which are hiring and promotion, college admissions (which was the case I was exposed to), and government contract awards. - Affirmative action brings obvious pros and cons….pros being that it helps to diversify America, and negatives being that in some cases it allows for somebody to gain a position in spite of not being the most qualified for the position. Now that we have a basic understanding of what affirmative action means here in the United States, I think it important to observe how the policy came about. - The term ‘affirmative action was first used by John F. Kennedy, in a 1961 executive order. This order actually encouraged racial integration in the workforce. - Richard Nixon would later become the first president to impose federal policies that guaranteed minority hiring, with the development of the Philadelphia Plan……this plan required contractors of federally assisted projects to set goals for hiring minorities. - Even later in 1972, the Equal Opportunity Act would pass, which led to major extensions in affirmative actions within colleges and universities. Understanding everything up to this point, it is interesting to observe how affirmative action...