Diversity concepts and applications

Affirmative action refers to the initiative of the government that gives special preference to minority groups and women in order to effectively tackle the problem of under-representation of these disadvantaged groups. Over the years, however, despite this action being both legal and moral in nature, this initiative has sparked intense controversy and has been the subject of passionate debates in academic and political circles. In the article under consideration, the author draws our attention to the various arguments raised in favor of and against affirmative action over the past forty years. The best thing about the article is author's completely unbiased and objective attitude towards the issue and his ability to draw conclusions after reasonably impartial analysis of facts, figures and arguments. The article brings forth various different legal and philosophical theories in connection with affirmative action to show how the issue became controversial and highly contentious. The article focuses on the past studies and researches that highlight both the negative and positive aspects of affirmative action. The most important point, according to my analysis of the article is the comparison the author has made between affirmative action and equal employment opportunity. The author states that while equal employment opportunity law seeks to achieve the same objective as affirmative action i.e. access to resources for everyone regardless of his color, race or creed. The author explains why despite the apparent similarities, he feels there exist some deep differences between the two and proves with the help of sound arguments that affirmative action is a better law than equal employment opportunity initiative. I personally believe that while other laws that seek to reward merit regardless of color and race are passive in nature and require more or less no active measures from those adopt them, affirmative action is an active initiative. The fact that it is active and requires concrete actions from all concerned parties is what makes affirmative action a more powerful and effective policy. When people are forced to participate in the creation of a fair and just society that rewards merit without taking race and gender into consideration, the process automatically creates awareness regardless the problems faced by the disadvantaged groups in the society. A passive process on the other hand destroys the very purpose of such laws since the people who should be aware of the intricacies of racial issues largely remain oblivious to the problem and its impact on the society.