Affirmative Action
When discussing affirmative action we must first define what the term means. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines affirmative action as “the practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of members of groups that have not been treated fairly in the past because of their race, sex, etc.” (Merriam-webster). As the definition states, these policies apply to both educational and employment situations and are designed to level the playing field, and make up for past unfairness, but are not supposed to create preferential treatment of one group over another. “Affirmative action goes beyond not discriminating among employees… employers take proactive steps to help reverse the impact of discrimination against …show more content…
In 1944 the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 was signed into law. The true premise behind Affirmative Action is to help people who have been disadvantaged in society. In the past, many veterans were drafted and lost jobs or homes, many were wounded during their service and some groups of veterans were treated horribly upon their return from service. When considering Affirmative Action, James Beckman states “For veterans, such specialized treatment would be based on rewarding them for their service, or providing a ‘bump’ or ‘bonus’ to their applications because veterans have historically been underrepresented or excluded on college campuses.” (Beckman, 2006). Veterans receive consideration in education under the category of diversity and financial assistance plus there are multiple programs for training, and rehabilitation for veterans as well. In employment situations, veterans are eligible for business loans and other types of help in owning small businesses. Quite often veterans also receive special consideration in hiring practices. All these benefits are examples of affirmative action programs that have been used properly to help disadvantaged groups attain better treatment but the system doesn’t always work as …show more content…
At Berea, people of all races and genders got along well and worked together to accomplish the mission of the college while getting an education.
When people grow up in an impoverished area it is often difficult for them to improve their situation without a good education or help from an outside source. For this reason a financially based Affirmative Action program might also help people improve their lives in the workforce. “Yes, some people start out at the bottom and work their way to the top, but not very many. Statistically speaking, if you are born into a household in the bottom fifth of the income distribution… the odds of you staying where you are, or moving up one just quintile, are about five in six.” (Cassidy, 2013) This sort of socioeconomic filtering rather than a race based filtering can also create a diverse group of people in both work and hiring practices. “Class-based admissions and recruitment strategies can be effective tools for guaranteeing both racial and socioeconomic diversity on campus...The income-based achievement gap is now twice the size of the race-based achievement gap, and it is time that affirmative action programs do more to address economic disadvantage.”
When discussing affirmative action we must first define what the term means. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines affirmative action as “the practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of members of groups that have not been treated fairly in the past because of their race, sex, etc.” (Merriam-webster). As the definition states, these policies apply to both educational and employment situations and are designed to level the playing field, and make up for past unfairness, but are not supposed to create preferential treatment of one group over another. “Affirmative action goes beyond not discriminating among employees… employers take proactive steps to help reverse the impact of discrimination against …show more content…
In 1944 the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 was signed into law. The true premise behind Affirmative Action is to help people who have been disadvantaged in society. In the past, many veterans were drafted and lost jobs or homes, many were wounded during their service and some groups of veterans were treated horribly upon their return from service. When considering Affirmative Action, James Beckman states “For veterans, such specialized treatment would be based on rewarding them for their service, or providing a ‘bump’ or ‘bonus’ to their applications because veterans have historically been underrepresented or excluded on college campuses.” (Beckman, 2006). Veterans receive consideration in education under the category of diversity and financial assistance plus there are multiple programs for training, and rehabilitation for veterans as well. In employment situations, veterans are eligible for business loans and other types of help in owning small businesses. Quite often veterans also receive special consideration in hiring practices. All these benefits are examples of affirmative action programs that have been used properly to help disadvantaged groups attain better treatment but the system doesn’t always work as …show more content…
At Berea, people of all races and genders got along well and worked together to accomplish the mission of the college while getting an education.
When people grow up in an impoverished area it is often difficult for them to improve their situation without a good education or help from an outside source. For this reason a financially based Affirmative Action program might also help people improve their lives in the workforce. “Yes, some people start out at the bottom and work their way to the top, but not very many. Statistically speaking, if you are born into a household in the bottom fifth of the income distribution… the odds of you staying where you are, or moving up one just quintile, are about five in six.” (Cassidy, 2013) This sort of socioeconomic filtering rather than a race based filtering can also create a diverse group of people in both work and hiring practices. “Class-based admissions and recruitment strategies can be effective tools for guaranteeing both racial and socioeconomic diversity on campus...The income-based achievement gap is now twice the size of the race-based achievement gap, and it is time that affirmative action programs do more to address economic disadvantage.”