The impact of affirmative action in the US

Affirmative Action

The Impact of Affirmative Action in the U.S.

United States is a multicultural nation with divided socio economic status among its various races, ethnic groups and gender. Though ours is a democratic nation, deprivation and discrimination has led to a gap between various groups in the society. Civil rights and freedom of all individuals have not been exercised equally. The term of 'Affirmative Action' first was used by John. F. Kennedy in 1961 was aimed to bring an end to the discrimination against particular sections of society which has been undergoing discrimination throughout history and were deprived of basic rights like education. Affirmative action is a positive reservation, wherein the once underprivileged sections of the society get preference in terms of education, job and housing. (Weisskopf, 2004)

The impact of affirmative action is a mixed one. It has good as well as bad effects. Affirmative action has assisted women and minority groups in the middle class segments of the American society. The benefits enjoyed by the middle class segments are high when compared to the benefits enjoyed by others. Afro-Americans were able to benefit from affirmative action during 1964 to 1975 when racial discrimination was lawfully barred. The Afro-Americans gained socio economic status during this period. However after 1975, there was not much momentum to the economic growth of the Afro Americans. After 1975, the socio-economic inequality among minority groups has been witnessed. Further the economic position of double earners in a family have gained higher position in society or continued with its financial position when compared to the single employed families which has been pushed into poor economic status. (Rushefsky, 2002)

Those against the policy of affirmative action calls for a requirement centered policy. A requirement centered policy is a narrow method to address the issue of socio economic status. There have been arguments that preference should be given focusing on the financial status of individuals rather than the race or color. An example is wherein admission is granted to a rich minority candidate in place of a poor white candidate. However those in favor of affirmative action argue that besides earnings, education and job being the criteria, preference should be given by considering the living conditions, affluence and the deprivation faced by the prospective candidate. Those who argue against affirmative action are of the view that providing preference to minority students in leading educational institutions and universities reduce the chance of bright white students. This paves way for white students to study at low standard institutions which later impacts their higher education and job possibilities. However those in favor of affirmative action argue that the policy of affirmative action is to be followed for the minority groups like the Afro-Americans since white students from wealthy families are in advantageous position due to their good early schooling, additional resources to learn and knowledge available from extensive travel. (Rushefsky, 2002)

Several judicial judgments have stated that affirmative action should continue to provide facilities to discriminated groups to enhance the possibility of their empowerment. (Rushefsky, 2002) the U.S. Army is a good example of giving priority to minorities in this regard. Large number of people in the U.S. Army is recruited from minority groups and they undergo rigorous training to match high standards. (Rushefsky, 2002) Further various universities in the United States have adopted the requirements of the Supreme Court to provide reservation to racially discriminated students. This is also a step towards diversity in educational institutions. (Hamilton, 2001) the method followed by University of California is a good reference for providing preference to minority groups. The University recruits minority faculty and scholarships are arranged for high achieving deprived students from minority groups. However this requirement-based program has been criticized by the opponents of affirmative action that it involves cost to the University and thus restricts the number of eligible candidates. (Rushefsky, 2002)

Further the institution of affirmative action in the United States has been adopted by various private companies to bring about a transformation in the society. Multinational companies take up policies that favor diversity in employment. Policies include placement, scholarship and employment that clearly state the objectives similar to affirmative action. Affirmative action has brought about results in decreasing deprivation but not total abolition of deprivation in terms of employment, salary and promotion. It has been observed that various companies have changed their policies to adopt affirmative action by employing racially discriminated people and by paying them good salary. The disparity in wages that existed during early 1960's that amounted to a difference of 40% increase in the white worker's salary has now given way to equality or near equality. (Hamilton, 2001)