Does Affirmative Action Work?

By: Chase Pattee

Affirmative action primarily has a negative effect on our society because it creates inequality,
promotes injustice, and gives power to the undeserving. A 1999 Harvard Study shows that
“affirmative action in college admission offices is the equivalent of adding 150 to 310 points on
an SAT score for a minority.” This is a perfect example of how affirmative promotes injustice
and creates inequality. However, a separate study conducted at the University of Chicago shows
that, “While family-friendly work policies such as longer and paid maternity leaves, paternity
leaves, optional part-time or shorter work hours, and the opportunity to work remotely, help
address women's need for greater flexibility, they fail to address the earnings gap” This study
however doesn’t prove anything about how affirmative action can help prevent injustice.
Affirmative action primarily has a negative effect on our society because it creates inequality,
promotes injustice, and gives power to the undeserving.

Inequality has been the primary political issue for the past 200 years, beginning with the
abolition of slavery, though it continues to evolve as cultures become more diverse and
individuals start to take advantage of their rights. Affirmative action put minorities above the
majority which makes it so candidates for specific jobs or positions have unequal opportunity
despite equal qualifications and skill sets. One example of this is with College Applications,
Minorities and Women are given numerous scholarship and leadership opportunities which give
them a major advantage over their competitors. Despite all government efforts to ensure all
businesses and organizations and giving candidates equal opportunities to be accepted or
advance, it’s simply impossible to keep tabs on all of them which means that tens of thousands of
people are losing jobs or promotions due to their race or gender. One Example of this is the
EEOC, the equal opportunity government association that makes sure employers are employing
equally. This organization checks in with all businesses across the nation regularly, yet there are
still businesses out there that are facing charges for unequal opportunities. No matter how hard
we as a society tries, there will always be hard feelings about unequal benefits, pay, or resources
available. Discrimination will always exist as new cultures and ideas are introduced as a product
of differences in opinions and beliefs. 89,385: The total number of workplace discrimination
charges filed with the EEOC in 2015. These statistics show that discrimination is still prominent
in the modern workplace, despite all the government and social restrictions.

Studies from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) show that “police are more likely to
pull over and frisk blacks or Latinos than whites. In New York City, 80% of the stops made were
blacks and Latinos, and 85% of those people were frisked, compared to a mere 8% of white
people stopped.” Injustice is a product of affirmative action failing to serve its purpose of
creating equality and fair treatment. When affirmative action was gradually introduced in the
1960s, employers and universities were very against these laws and did everything from
segregating neighborhoods and giving minorities the short end of the stick with employee
benefits. To help combat this, congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This was landmark
legislation prohibiting employment discrimination by large employers (over 15 employees),
whether or not they have government contracts.” When society is against a certain political
movement or idea, the law enforcement go along with their own beliefs rather than following the
law they are supposed to be enforcing. During the civil rights movement, law enforcement across
the south was notorious for coercing minorities into ghettos and jailing citizens who didn’t agree
with their beliefs. “The permissible limits of law enforcement bodies have always been set by
state and local governments, and their goals are inherently at odds with the federally derived
world of civil liberties articulated in the Bill of Rights. In fact, most of the protections in the Bill
of Rights did not even apply to state or local officials until the 1950s.” When an employer is
deciding who to hire for a high-level position, its reasonable they consider all candidates despite
their difference in race and gender, however, affirmative action gives minorities and women who
are less qualified than the majority an equal chance which makes it so the employer must hire a
certain number of each minority to help break their organizations “glass ceiling. A glass ceiling
is when a business sets the limit of how high women and other minorities can advance.
“Statistics prove beyond doubt that a glass ceiling existed long before the term was introduced.
These barriers to minority progress had previously defied clear definition but, in the late 1980s,
the glass ceiling became part of the language of management literature.”
John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson were the faces of the civil rights movement, yet one
was assassinated physically and one was assassinated socially. Throughout the past 50 years, the
laws of this nation have created enormous changes in society and our overall business culture.
“Affirmative Action ensures that a diverse environment can be achieved. This adds perspectives
and experiences to the environment which wouldn’t be present if the program wasn’t in place.”
Stereotypes of various groups and individuals are eliminated by Affirmative Action which help
create a more inclusive work and learning environment. “Polarization in the US is occurring
because people are choosing to surround themselves with like-minded neighbors and co-workers.
The number of Congressional seats that are labeled as “open,” or without a clear preference for
conservative or liberal representation, has decreased by over 70% since 1996.” In the Declaration
of Independence, it states that the pursuit of happiness is a part of “the American dream”
“Affirmative Action allows people to pursue a career that they may never have considered
without help from the program.”

Affirmative action primarily has a negative effect on our society because it creates inequality,
promotes injustice, and gives power to the undeserving. A 1999 Harvard Study shows that
“affirmative action in college admission offices is the equivalent of adding 150 to 310 points on
an SAT score for a minority.” This is a perfect example of how affirmative promotes injustice
and creates inequality. However, a separate study conducted at the University of Chicago shows
that, “While family-friendly work policies such as longer and paid maternity leaves, paternity
leaves, optional part-time or shorter work hours, and the opportunity to work remotely, help
address women's need for greater flexibility, they fail to address the earnings gap” This study
however doesn’t prove anything about how affirmative action can help prevent injustice.