8 Prevailing Pros and Cons of Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is a set of laws, actions, and policies that have been set in place by the government in order to protect the minority communities. It was set into place after the historical civil rights movement in the 1960, in order to further show the government and country’s support for the minority groups who where fighting for their civil rights. The majority of these actions affect the workplace the most, they set strict standards for the amount of diversity that a workplace must operate underneath. Along with the workplace, affirmative action laws also seep into the education system and every day life. They certainly have done quite a bit of good for the country, but is it time for them to retire?
Pros of Affirmative Action
1. We Can’t Leave Diversity To Chance
Diversity is one of the founding characteristics of the United States. The affirmative actions laws help to ensure that this stays true in all faucets of the country, especially the workplace. Companies are required to have a certain amount of minorities working for them, this is the make sure that the company has a diverse employee pool and a diverse look on issues.
2. The Edge That Students Need
Many kids of minorities are not set up for success in the academic world. This is because of where they grew up, the mindset of their families, and many other outside influences. Affirmative action gives these minority students a major boost when it comes to the college application process. Colleges have quotas to fill for minority students, and will typically lower their standards.
3. History Can’t Be Forgotten
Another one of the reasons that affirmative action policies are beneficial is because it helps to ease the pain and animosity that surrounds the history of the country. We have not had a great past when it comes to minority people, and many believe that affirmative action is a form of retribution to these people.
4. Protection From Violence
There are racist, homophobic, and sexist women in this world, no doubt. These people will often make minorities the targets of violent and horrible attacks. Affirmative action has very strict policies regarding this, making the punishments much more harsh for the perpetrator. This helps to deter some of the violence from taking place.
Cons of Affirmative Action
1. Discrimination is Discrimination
Arguers of affirmative actions believe that by giving special treatment and rights to some people, is discriminatory to the people who they are not given to. This is the exact opposite of the true goal of affirmative action. It is unfair to give some people an advantage in a job or schooling opportunity, simply because of their skin color or gender.
2. The Standards Are Lowered
All of the standards for employment, and admissions into colleges are lowered in order for the company to meet their requirements for minority attendance or employment. This compromises the integrity of the school or business as well as sets a lower standard for these people.
3. Their Accomplishments Are Lost
If a minority person accomplishes great things, people do not give them the correct amount of credit that they truly deserve because of the belief that they only got there because of the affirmative action laws. While this is certainly not always true, the connotation that comes with it is hard to shake.
4. Difficult To Eliminate
Since the affirmative action policies and laws where put into place such a long time ago, they will be extremely difficult to remove from the country. They where put into place at a time of much change, but this change has already happened and the affirmative action laws are not being abused and are no longer needed for a functioning society. If anything, they only hinder the growth, development, and acceptance in the country.
