Affirmative Action

Paper Summary:

Affirmative action began with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which Lyndon Johnson was pressured to submit to Congress as a memorial to JFK. The idea was to redress the discrimination and the unconstitutional treatment of African-Americans in the United States. This paper examines how affirmative action spread to include women, other minority groups and the handicapped. It shows how the act has been accepted by some and criticized by others. The paper concludes that the idea of affirmative action is not to exclude anyone, but, at the same time, not to include someone simply because of race or gender. While it would seem logical that affirmative action opens doors for admissions or for hiring in the workplace, it is just as logical that previous discrimination should not now become the basis for inclusion.

From the Paper:

"There are now more women working. TME Magazine even featured a story about a womanw commanding a U.S. warship. Two wage-earner families are no longer rare in this country. Single mothers need to work, and are expecting to earn the same pay as their male co-workers. But, there is still an "out" for the employer who wants to attempt to discriminate against equal pay for women: pay according to experience. Since most of the white males have been on the job longer, the excuse often is- experience is worth a few more dollars an hour. Suits are continuing to be brought under various Titles of the Fair Employment section of the Affirmative Action laws."

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