Affirmative action is a program of positive action, undertaken with conviction and effort to overcome the present effects of past practices, policies, or barriers to equal employment opportunity and to achieve the full and fair participation of women, minorities and individuals with disabilities found to be underutilized in the workforce based on availability. The only way to create a colorblind society is to adopt colorblind policies. Southwest educational development laboratory sedl letter. The fact is, americas most elite colleges produce a disproportionate percentage of our countrys powerful, who have influence in business, politics, and other aspects of society the overwhelming majority of whom are white. If this is the case, youll still need to do some research before you write. Affirmative action only benefits minorities diversity is a sham. Ten myths about affirmative action the essay appeared in a 1997 issue of jsi entitled affirmative action. The goal of this paper is to show the clarifying power of economic reasoning to dispel some myths and misconceptions in the racial affirmative action debates. Ten myths about affirmative action pious 1996 journal.
Dec 16, 2010 there are a lot of myths about affirmative action. This commentary examines the confusing justice claims advanced by opponents and proponents of affirmative action by proposing three justice questions that underpin the fairness debate. Affirmative action programs have been controversial since their inception in 1965. Affirmative action stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Affirmative action can involve goals and timetables while avoiding quotas.
Mar 05, 2014 facts and myths about affirmative action. Because those tasks are not reported on until an ofccp audit, they often fall. Affirmative action, fairness, and the scope of justice. Here are 10 myths that people like clegg spin about affirmative actionand the facts that dispel those myths. Supreme courts consideration of president obamas healthcare legislation this spring, many in higher education are. Many supporters view affirmative action as a milestone, many opponents see it as a millstone, and many others regard it as both or neither as a necessary, but imperfect, remedy for an intractable social disease. Kennedy keeping in mind the discrimination meted out to various forms of minorities or women. Several studies have documented important gains in racial and. Universities often justify their affirmative action programs by claiming that the diverby richard lempert, david chambers and terry. Because those tasks are not reported on until an ofccp audit, they often fall to the bottom of the. This fact sheet, a joint project of the aclu racial justice program, aclu human rights program and the african american policy forum, debunks common myths about affirmative action and provides basic information about the deceptive civil rights initiatives being forwarded in 5 states this fall 2008.
Three myths about affirmative action innovations blogs. It is thus opportune to take stock, not only of the. Scott plous, wesleyan university during the past year, affirmative action has been debated more intensely than at any other time in its 30year history. Understanding affirmative action diversity university of california. Index acknowledgement page page number 2 facilitators guide 318 cultural competency powerpoint gender equity quiz 1936 37 gender equity answer sheet 38 springboards for discussing history of affirmative action 3942 4345 ten myths about affirmative action 4649 myths and fact 50. Affirmative action and equal opportunity programs were initiated and continue to this day by executive. Facts and myths of affirmative action higheredjobs. Ten myths about affirmative action ten myths about affirmative action pious, s. The affirmative action article originally at this location has been updated, and a copy of the updated article is available at. In 1961 the policy of affirmative action was created by the then president john f. Ten myths about affirmative action social psychology. Preparation ask students to read ten myths about affirmative action before the next class period. Myths and facts about affirmative action american civil.
For the purposes of this article, we will explore affirmative action in the employment context only. Affirmative action is a controversial and often poorly understood policy. Oct 12, 2012 affirmative action is designed to level somewhat a grossly unfair playing field. Many supporters view affirmative action as a milestone, many opponents see it as a millstone. Even if you consider yourself an expert on affirmative action, you might have to write a research paper about the topic.
Holzer georgetown public policy institute urban institute david neumark public policy institute of california university of california at irvine nber iza november 2005 this paper has been prepared for the journal of policy analysis and management, at the invitation of the editor. Here are some of the most popular myths about affirmative action, along with a brief commentary on each one. Federal contractors are required to do a number of tasks during the affirmative action plan year. In 1972, affirmative action became an inflammatory public issue. True enough, the civil rights act of 1964 already had made something called affirmative action a remedy federal courts could impose on violators of the act. Affirmative action is a nonissue because it only impacts a small percentage of students. Affirmative action is nothing more than an attempt at social engineering by liberal democrats. In truth, affirmative action programs have spanned nine different presidential administrations six republican and three democratic.
Learn more about the most common myths about affirmative action at. Southwest educational development laboratory sedl volume xiv number 3 letter december 2002 building knowledge to support learning putting reading first ten myths of. My own view is that the case against affirmative action is weak, resting, as it does so heavily, on myth and misunderstanding. Ten myths about affirmative action usf diversity, inclusion and. Affirmative action has not succeeded in increasing female and minority representation.
Comments this article on the myths of affirmative action, is relevant for our society today as we are facing affirmative action more and more these days. The essay appeared in a 1997 issue of jsi entitled. Ten myths about affirmative action pious 1996 journal of social. Introduction the year 2009 marked 10 years since south africas affirmative action aa legislation of 1998 took effect. Plous wesleyan university many supporters view affirmative action as a milestone, many opponents see it as a millstone, and many others regard it as both or neitheras a necessary, but imperfect, remedy for an intractable social disease. In this paper i discuss ten of the most common myths concerning affirmative.
Ten myths about affirmative action, journal of social issues. Subsequently, affirmative action was broadened to cover women and native americans, hispanics, and other minorities and was extended to colleges and universities and state and federal agencies. In this paper i discuss ten of the most common myths. Feel free to download, print, cite, circulate, or add web links to the essay, but please include appropriate citation information when doing so. Here are some of the most popular myths about affirmative action, along with a brief. Scott plous is an academic social psychologist, currently working as a professor of psychology at the department of psychology, wesleyan university his areas of research include the psychology of prejudice and discrimination, judgment and decision making, international security and counterterrorism, interactive webbased research, and the human use of animals and the environment. In this paper i discuss ten of the most common myths concerning affirmative action, and i present public opinion poll data suggesting that support for affirmative. Plous wesleyan university the case against affirmative action rests heavily on myth and misunderstanding. Facts and myths about affirmative action a knowledge archive. It discusses 10 of the most common myths and presents public opinion poll data suggesting that support for affirmative action is greater than typically assumed. People of good will believe them, but the facts are not what people think. Debunking 5 myths about affirmative action the education.
Myths and facts about affirmative action american civil liberties. Affirmative action programs were monitored by the office of federal contract compliance and the equal employment opportunity commission eeoc. Ten myths about affirmative action ten myths about affirmative action this article is an updated version of a 1996 essay first published in the journal of social issues volume 52, pages 2531. Affirmative action has not succeeded in increasing female and minority. Apr 02, 2018 working every year with hundreds of school kids and various public groups, several misconceptions, underlying assumptions, or myths seem to bubbleup to the surface on a regular basis. In these pages, youll find hundreds of bibliographic links to books, research journals, magazines, ezines, newsletters, special reports, articles, essays, and more. Law school graduating class included at least 10 students from. Michigan does take race into account when it admits students.
Argues how the case against affirmative action heavily rests on myth and misunderstanding. However, because there can be so much confusion over this topic, we will briefly go over affirmative action as it can sometimes be viewed in college admissions. Linking research, policy, and implementation volume 52, issue 4. The case against affirmative action rests heavily on myth and misunderstanding.
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