Pros and Cons Paper:
Affirmative Action
BY
Khushi Jogani
U.S. HIST-1302
25 June 2018
Introduction: Overview and Summary Statements
Affirmative Action(AA) refers to a set of policies practiced by universities, employers, and government institutions to eliminate the discrimination and improve the socioeconomic status of minorities and women. Issued in 1961 by President John F Kennedy, affirmative action was a tool to redress the injustice caused by the nation’s historic discrimination and fight the everyday issues of racism and sexism. Till this day, the effects of affirmative action remain a controversial topic. Advocates argue that affirmative action significantly reduces discrimination in the society and improves the equality between races. On the other hand, critics claim that affirmative action destroys the concept of skills and personality, instead provokes reverse discrimination and also causes social stigma.
The Voice of the Pro Advocates
After the Great Recession in 2009, the overall income a household received in the United States rose by 6.9% over the course of 3 years. Interpreting it more, one can see that the top 1% of earners saw real income grow by over 34%, while the bottom 99% saw a gain of just 0.8%. The country's top earners captured 91% of real income during that period. Affirmative action is a program that helps to balance these differences. Encouraging affirmative action in schools and businesses will have a more diverse, multi-capable staff. Therefore, allowing more room for acceptance and cross-cultural learning, in a society full of discrimination, usually strengthening the business or school as a result. It also allows for the breakdown of mistaken ideas that certain ethnicities perform more capable than others.
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In the United States, it could be argued that minority groups are at a societal disadvantage because of their historical treatment. Through slavery and oppression, minority households over the course of generations have not had the same opportunities to build wealth. A program like Affirmative Action can help those minority households begin to reverse the societal losses they have experienced.
Since 1983, the percentage of women business managers and professionals grew from 41% of all such persons to 48%, while the number of female police officers more than doubled, from 6% to 13%. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce (Bureau of the Census) in 1995, there were at least 6 million women — the overwhelming majority of them white — who would not have the jobs they have now, but for the inroads made by affirmative action. Not only in the workforce, but the affirmative action has benefited women in gaining higher education. Affirmative action program for women grants fellowship programs to help them move into fields where their participation has been discouraged, s...
