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Affirmative Action

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Affirmative action is a formal effort to provide increased employment opportunities for women and ethnic minorities, to overcome past patterns of discrimination. Affirmative action is a negative policy that grants that minorities will get the rights and opportunities that they may not deserve. Under the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, "Most federal contractors, all state governments and institutions, and most local governments were required to initiate plans to increase the proportions of their female and minority employees until they matched the proportions existing in the available labor markets" (Bowen 2). Affirmative action as defined by law is most definitively not based on a quota system. In fact, what is not widely known is that this program can be equally used by all individuals provided that an inequality exists in the group that they belong to as not being reflected in the work force. In 1978, a well known case of affirmative action took place at the University of California.

In the case of the University of California vs. Bakke, the United States Supreme Court stated, "Even though universities may consider race and ethnic origins as factors in evaluating candidates for admissions, universities may not establish fixed racial quotas" (Steamer 1). The case arose at the University of California of Davis when a twice-rejected medical student, Allan Bakke, was inapplicable because of his and race. The university was admitting members of other minorities who had lower test scores, and in Bakke's opinions," This was a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment" (Bakke 1). The Supreme Court ordered that Bakke be admitted, but the judges gave many different reasons for their decisions. One judge, Warren Burger, "Ruled against the university on the grounds that it had violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which provided that no person might be excluded from any federally funded institution because of race" (Warren1). The Supreme Court made the decision being in the best interest of everyone's equal opportunity.

Equality of opportunity is, for the most part, not controversial. The courts and the political branches of the United States government have generally embraced the idea that people should have an equal opportunity to complete, to perform, and to succeed on their merits, without being hindered by their race, sex, or other protected characteristics. This also includes the equal opportunity to prevent the discrimination in employment, education, and housing. If equal opportunity and affirmative action were not stated and made aware, the opportunities for individuals in the future could decrease, due to discrimination.

Affirmative action because it is unfair. Individuals are discriminated against because they are more qualified for the job, or they have had better schooling. If individuals would not discriminate against one another, there would be no judging and the future of one may be in everyone's best interest. Why should minorities or women be given a job when they may not be as qualified as another individual. Equal opportunity and affirmative action may have helped in some cases, but affirmative action should not be a right. I have always been taught that the best individual should be awarded the position.

Bergmann, Barbara R., "In the defense of Affirmative Action", Groiler Encyclopedia. ed. 1996.

Blackmore, Ken, and Drake, Robert F., "Understanding Equal Opportunity Policies," Groiler Encyclopedia. ed 1996.

Wilkinson, J.H., "From Brown to Bakke: The Supreme Court and School Integration" Groiler Encyclopedia. 1954-1978.

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claudia Reviewed this free essay on Oct:11:2008

good attempt.

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