Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action

Affirmative action and other race-conscious remedies were created to erase the differences in rights and opportunities defined by that color line . National anxiety about affirmative action has never been higher That is saying a lot , considering how controversial affirmative action has been since it was introduced twenty-five years ago . The controversy starts with the identification of affirmative action with jobs , prime but elusive possessions in our market economy . Whether it raises hopes or anxiety , to the average American of every background , affirmative action means jobs . Employment , more than other

areas , has given definition to affirmative action . The term was first applied to employment and for years applied only to job discrimination . Although variations are used in education , government contracting , and voting rights , affirmative action and jobs go together in the public mind Because there have never been enough jobs to go around , affirmative action has had a precarious existence , even as it became increasingly widespread . Although strong national leadership and crafty legal action may well save it , affirmative action will always have to watch its proverbial back . The aim of affirmative action is to remove these unwarranted self-imposed limitations on career aspirations : to expand people 's sense of what is possible for them , so that they can subject the full range of options to the kind of individualized scrutiny that is appropriate to career decisions and goals (Stroud 385 . Affirmative action is without a doubt necessary

Such actions are important to reduce the act of discrimination that is prevalent in our society today . Employment discrimination experts agree that antidiscrimination laws such as the Civil Rights Act encourage , and in many instances require , affirmative action (Forman 746 . Affirmative action is necessary and people from the minorities should be brought up to higher ranks and highly paid jobs rather than left concentrated at lower paid jobs . Opportunity should be given to them so that they can excel and make their living standards better Equal opportunity should be present for all the races in the United States . Moreover , gender discrimination should also be subtracted and men and women should have equal job opportunities . Affirmative action is being taken by many nations of the world because they realize its importance . India , for example , has undertaken affirmative action initiatives in regard to disfavored castes that are both older and more extensive than any program ventured in the United States (Ginsburg 2 Its 1950 constitution boldly affirms affirmative action because it realizes that equal opportunity should be presented to all the castes and races in India

There is opposition towards affirmative action and they suggest that it is pointless and useless . However , they fail to realize that affirmative action works rather well , at least in the context of employment (Buford Jr , 1998 . The courts themselves favor affirmative action and such is seen by a ruling by a federal district court in San Francisco which brought great changes and for the first time in the history of the fire department 's history , women were admitted...