Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action

Have you ever wondered how some of the most prestigious colleges in the United States are racially diverse? Do you think using gender and race is a fair way to decide whether or not an individual gets admitted into college? In 1961, the 35th president of the U.S., John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 10925. Executive Order 10925 states that government employers should strictly, “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.” This executive order was later revised and rephrased by another president. Nonetheless, Affirmative Action is a policy that allows minorities to have opportunities, whether it be in a workplace …show more content…
Opponents of Affirmative Action perceive the term as unconstitutional because white individuals that have long sought for well-deserved opportunities by demonstrating they are worthy and have sufficient qualifications have been discredited. From an opponent’s point of view, there is no need for affirmative action because it has been years since minorities have been discriminated against. Moreover, it is time for society to move on and stop trying to compensate for racial subordination around the 1960’s (Hernandez, 2015). Not to mention, it demeans minorities in a sense that the idea of them getting the position/admission would be impossible if it weren’t for affirmative action. For instance, a white male and Hispanic male compete over a position at a prestigious law firm, and the Hispanic ends up getting the position. The white male might not fret the lack of opportunity because there is a huge chance he only got it because of “affirmative action.” Even though this may not always be the case, others may see it as a way to explain why they didn’t get the position. The process of affirmative action is very controversial because it not only affects minorities, but the rest of society as well (“Affirmative Action”, …show more content…
In fact, it is nationally known that on average women, “get paid 77 cents for every dollar a man makes”. Affirmative action is to thank for whatever progress has been made over the years because if it weren’t for that, employers, especially those who do business with the federal government, would no longer care how many women they employed. Moreover, they’d be more inclined to hire males, especially when it comes to higher paying jobs. One reason for this may be because women, as well as African Americans used to be seen as property and may not be seen as capable. They had little to no rights because their sole purpose was to serve rich white men. That is not to say women can be randomly chosen and based on their gender, because that is unlawful and unjust (Patten, 2014). The purpose of Affirmative Action isn’t to strip others from opportunities but to provide an equal amount of opportunities for all types of groups of