The Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action

The concept of affirmative action is found in a speech by President Kennedy when he was referring to the government’s responsibility to ensure that affirmative action was taken with regard to equal employment opportunities for individuals regardless of race, creed, color, or national origin.
It is interesting that although President Kennedy pioneered the concept of affirmative action, it was President Lyndon Johnson who first applied this concept by taking steps to equalize the presence of individuals in government positions. President Johnson outlined that it was not enough to say that equal employment opportunities existed; it was the government's responsibility to ensure that the positions not only existed, but were being filled by minorities in a commitment to cultural diversity. Directives were put into place as part of this process that not only banned discrimination, but also offered incentives to government contractors who employed a culturally-diverse workforce.
Some of the pros of affirmative action, therefore, include increased opportunities for cultural minority groups, such as legislation that strongly urged employers to select minority candidates and contractors (given that they met qualifying criteria) Numerous research studies have been conducted regarding the glass ceiling for women, as well as attempts to determine
To weight any individual's application due to demographic information (as cultural information is) results in basic discrimination. One cannot have both options available; either no-one is favored, or everyone is favored. To have two qualified individuals, and then to choose one based upon his or her cultural identity is at its heart discriminatory. At what point are professionals free to choose the best person for the job, without knowing the individual’s cultural