Affirmative Action Around the Globe

The United States is not the only country that has faced the issue of systematic oppression throughout history. Other nations around the globe have all attempted to reconcile past racial and circumstantial discrimination through different means. As mentioned in my earlier blog posts, the United States began utilizing affirmative action in the early 1960s as a way to begin giving more opportunities to historically oppressed minority groups. Throughout the past several decades, the arguments surrounding affirmative action have increased as people began to claim that there is a lesser need for it today. Furthermore, the idea that affirmative action is a form of positive discrimination has also become a public debating point. This week, I plan to showcase how other nations have dealt with this issue, and how the United States could look to its international peers for advice surrounding the future of affirmative action.

It is important to note that in some of the countries I will talk about, racial discrimination has not played as large of a historical role as it has in the United States. For example, according debatepedia.idebate.org, Japan does not necessarily have an affirmative action program, but it does try and restrict discrimination. For example, a standardized test is utilized for many government and education positions, and race is not allowed to be stated on the form. For this reason, race is completely eliminated from the process, as only aptitude is viewed when making decisions.

In the United States, removing race from entrance exams may not entirely fix the issue. For example, many minority individuals come from backgrounds with less financially strong public education programs. For this reason, any standardized test scores of these groups of people may not accurately represent the amount of those students capable and deserving to attend certain institutions. Although not a perfect system, affirmative action represents a way to even the playing field by giving the same opportunities to people of color that may otherwise not get the chance due to systematic oppression. Only after a long amount of time and ample policy change will it become less necessary to aid these groups as they will ideally become equal in regards to public education.

In the United Kingdom, no positive discrimination is allowed. For this reason, quotas and selective systems are disallowed. The reason behind this was explained by a parliamentary release claiming that helping minority groups through reverse discrimination could actually make matters worse. For example, this could knit minorities closer together as outsiders instead of including them in the same process as everyone else. However, if this were implemented in the United States, this could lead to several issues. The instant removal of affirmative action due to an societal prediction would upset many groups of people and chaos could ensue.

Finally, the last country I investigated was Sweden. According to thelocal.se, Sweden recently voted to completely remove affirmative action from public universities. Instead, only academic merit would be utilized in determining a student's acceptance into a school. Many groups were upset at first, but it now seems clear that this may help remove dividing lines between individual groups of people over time. In the united States, however, this could end poorly as I previously talked about. Due to lower quality eduction provided in impoverished areas, minority groups in America are often disadvantaged when it comes to academically excelling.

Overall, the way other countries handle affirmative action is extremely important to understand how the U.S. can continue to improve the equality among all of its citizens. Although the U.S. has dealt with more racial hatred than many other countries in the world, it is still vital to begin thinking ahead to establish methods that take away dividing lines between groups of people.

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Affirmative Action in the Workplace

As the benefits and arguments surrounding affirmative action compile in today's conversation, its important to look towards other institutions and inspect affirmative action's wide effects. Today, I plan to present the issue of how affirmative action should be treated outside higher education. Many opinions exist on how affirmative action should be handled post-education, and some continue to believe it is not necessary in the job market.

In past blogs, I showcased the different arguments for and against affirmative action used by higher education institutions. Not only does affirmative action give more opportunities for individuals belonging to groups that have historically been discriminated against, but affirmative action can also begin to promote equality towards the future. One issue with affirmative action is that it is generally only utilized by higher educational institutions, and this can decrease any widespread benefits that may otherwise be possible. For example, if affirmative action was applied to other influential groups around the country, this could increase the benefits more than colleges alone leading the forefront.

If affirmative action was utilized in the workplace, this may expedite the amount of time it takes until all groups of people have the same opportunities to achieve similar goals. With this added boost, affirmative action may only be necessary for several more decades, as opposed to an even longer amount of time. Utilizing this opportunity-generating tool may lead to a society where each individual has a better chance of achieving their version of the American dream.

According to the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity, affirmative action can be utilized to increase the number of women and minority groups working in fields that have historically been dominated by white men. This technique is believed to reduce the temptation of only hiring "buddies," but instead opens the door for so many others that might not otherwise have the opportunity. It is considered  illegal to discriminate against someone applying to a job based on gender, race, or any other characteristics not under their control. For this reason, affirmative action does not simply mean hiring someone because they are diverse. Instead, it requires that upmost fairness be given to all parties applying and this ensures that groups that have been denied opportunities in the past can now have them.

Also, according to HigherEdJobs, affirmative action does not mean hiring people who are less qualified based on gender or race. Instead, it requires advertising and screening processes to be unbiased and nondiscriminatory. Also, another myth surrounding affirmative action in the workplace is that it does not indicate the use of quotas. In reality, quotas are forbidden, but placement goals do exist to show with statistics about how diverse a career field could ideally become.

On the other hand, many people still believe that affirmative action should not be utilized in the workplace. At public universities where thousands of applicants are accepted regardless, affirmative action seems to make a much less noticeable impact from individual to individual. However, if a job came down to less than five applicants, and affirmative action was utilized to pick the future employee, this may feel much more personal. For this reason, affirmative action has not historically been utilized in many work environments for hiring or promotional purposes.

Now, I want to know what you think. Is affirmative action a fair way to treat people in the workplace, or should this tool only remain in use within higher education. Would utilizing affirmative action in the workplace lead to more equality, or a decrease in race relations in the United States? We can all agree that a society where race is no longer a factor in opportunity is idea, but the path to reach this goal varies depending on an individual's opinion. I want to hear your opinion, so leave a comment below and let's continue the discussion!

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The Winding Road that Led to Affirmative Action

It is well known that equality did not exist in America for a long time. Ever since the first African slaves were brought to the new world, progressivists have fought to insure the rights of every human being may someday be secure. Throughout the nation's history, government and public policy influencers have attempted to continue the spread of equality, only to be met by opposition from the public. Change is not something American's have always liked, even if it is for the best. The fight towards equality has been a hard and long one, and it is still a battle we face today as a nation. The public education system is a perfect example of how certain inequalities still exist and how public universities are trying to combat this issue.

For example, beginning in the early 1900s, single-room black school houses were all that existed to educate African American children. These schools were extremely lacking in funding, supplies, and children only attended them for a few years. Although having any schools at all was an improvement from the lack of colored schools in the 1850s, the idea of "separate but equal" was grossly inaccurate as these schools were nowhere near the same caliber in quality or quantity.

Then, beginning in the 1950s with the Civil Rights movement, headed by leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., the idea of these injustices were brought to the public eye. Public backlash occurred, and violence often broke out. In 1960, Ruby Bridges became the first African American student to begin the desegregation of public schools as she was allowed to attend the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana. This was a huge step forward in someday achieving a completely free and equal society.

Unfortunately, inequalities still existed for much of the 1970s and 1980s, but a huge advancement came to light during the early 1960s. President Lyndon Johnson defined and instigated the concept of Affirmative Action. Considered 'positive discrimination,' Affirmative Action began to improve the opportunities for groups generally discriminated against and encouraged public universities to accept and offer aid to more ethnic groups than ever before. Continuing up until the 2000s, Affirmative Action was utilized to seek out fairness in the nation's institutions after years of racism and discrimination.

Today, Affirmative Action is still benefiting countless students across America. According to www.pewresearch.org, over 60 percent of Americans still strongly support Affirmative action as a means of increasing equality in American educational institutions. Still, that leaves 40 percent of Americans that have an issue with this concept. In 2012, a Supreme Court case arose involving the University of Texas and the admissions process. As stated www.inamerica.blogs.cnn.com, a girl sued the University because she believed she was denied access due to being white, and that "less deserving" friends of her's that were non-white were accepted. The Supreme Court did not agree with the girl, however, and the University of Texas was allowed to continue practices of Affirmative Action. Many groups of people became angered at the fact that people believe that these non-white students are so called "less deserving," because this is not the case. According to the University of Texas, race is only a small factor taken into account when holistically reviewing an application.

Now that you know a little more about the history of Affirmative Action, I hope you are ready to follow along with my blog this semester and begin to formulate your own thoughts and opinions on this topical issue. Most people recognize its value in a society that has historically struggled with race relations and discrimination in public institutions. On the other hand, how does a concept like Affirmative Action sound in today's world of political correctness? Even though it is still benefitting many deserving people, when will it not be necessary to keep using it? Will it always be necessary? Let me know in the comments below what you think about the rise of Affirmative Action use in America. Stay tuned, and next week I plan to delve deeper into this civic issue and analyze its significance in our western culture.

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When Will Affirmative Action Disappear?

For my Civic Issues blog, I have decided to investigate and analyze disagreements over affirmative action and other educational based issues facing today's society. Primarily, I aim to create a thought provoking view of the topic and allow you, the reader, to actively chose where you lie in regards to all sides of the arguments.

In particular, when it comes to affirmative action, there are two main trains of thought. Firstly, many people believe that since certain minority groups were oppressed for an extended period of time in our nation's history, then it is only right to have an aid which increases the availability of higher education to these groups. This thought process of lowering admission standards for certain minority populations has become known as "affirmative action," and it has caused a lot of discourse in politics and civic interactions of late.

On the other hand, a large portion of citizens view affirmative action as "reverse discrimination" against the majority of higher education applicants. Behind the anti-affirmative action group lies a set of opinions that are formed by comparatively higher expectations and lower financial aid. As these two sides of the argument begin to clash, a middle-of-the-road idea begins to form. Ideally, over time, all minorities will have achieved the same level of opportunity experienced by the rest of Americans. At this point in time, will affirmative action no longer need to exist? And if this theory is true, when does that time in the future occur, and how will we be ready for it?

Recently, Politico released an article detailing the fact that the Supreme Court is still upholding the right for schools to utilize affirmative action when selecting future students. However, the most recent vote upholding this idea was only decided by a narrow margin of a 4-3 decision. This close vote not only showcases a movement away from affirmative action practices of the past, but also brings into the public eye the question of how much longer it should exist.

Everyone reacts to the idea of affirmative action differently, and several factors can play a role in influences someone's opinion on the matter. A person's race, own life experiences, and overall political leanings can affect how they feel about increasing the ratio of minority students at universities and colleges. According to The New York Times, affirmative action is believed by many to not be the only solution to a society that is still dealing with the whiplash of segregation laws and slavery in the nation's history. In the article, Lee Bollinger details his own opinion that affirmative action should, however, remain intact in addition to increasing court and societal influence for change. Race relations have changed slowly over time, and Bollinger indicates that removing affirmative action now would be premature.

Regardless of how each individual feels about affirmative action, it is generally agreed upon that race relations have improved over the last several decades, but that they are still not perfect. How far someone believes race relations are from perfect is a factor in concluding when mechanisms like higher education should stop considering race. And finally, at what point does this tool become racist in its own, backwards way?

A more desolate view of the matter indicates that affirmative action will be necessary for an indefinite amount of time, as race relations will never improve to perfect equality. This idea stems from the theory that poor socioeconomic status, like what affects large portions of minority populations, breeds more poor socioeconomic status and individuals struggle to escape this repeating tragedy. Within this concept, it would appear that aids like affirmative action would never be enough to correct the balance between race relations, and that additional tools would have to be added in order to make any sort of impact.

After you have had time to think about how you feel about this civic issue, try to answer the following questions to yourself. Do you think race relations are improving with the use of affirmative action? What additional steps or tools would you add to someday achieve a world in which higher education would not need to consider race as a factor for the acceptance rate? Will the use of affirmative action ever become unnecessary or even harmful for other portions of the population?
With these thoughts in mind, you have already made the first step in discovering your stance on this civic issue. Over the next several blogs, I plan to investigate the history and changing controversies surrounding race and education; you can follow along and perhaps witness your own opinions mature and change.

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