Affirmative Action Programs

• Equal opportunity policies:

• Negative: Aim to prevent any further discrimination.
• Positive: Eliminate effects of past discrimination.
• To rectify the past discrimination, and achieve more
representative distribution within the firm AAP has been
initiated.
• Utilization analysis: A detailed analysis of all the major job
classifications to determine whether there are fewer…. In a
particular job classification than could be reasonably expected
by their availability in the area of recruitment.
• Establish recruiting goals and timetable which is specific,
measurable, and designed in good faith to correct the
deficiencies uncovered.
Affirmative Action Programs
• Affirmative action is legal when used to correct a racial or
sexual imbalance that is the result of previous discrimination.
• It is also legal when used to correct a gross, persistent, and
manifest imbalance not caused by previous discrimination.

• Attacked on the ground that, in attempting to correct the

effects of past discrimination, these have become
discriminatory. By showing preferences these institute a form
of reverse discrimination by using non-relevant characteristics
to make employment decisions and violates the principles of
equality and equal opportunity.
• Justified
• A form of compensation for past injuries
• Instrument for achieving certain social goals
Affirmative Action as Compensation
• Claims affirmative action compensates groups for past
discrimination.
• Based on concept of compensatory justice- people have an
obligation to compensate those whom they have intentionally
and unjustly wronged.

• Criticized as unfair because those who benefit were not harmed

and those who pay did not injure.
• Some argue in response to criticism that actually discrimination
has harmed all members of a group and benefited all members of
other group.
• It is unclear that these arguments succeed in justifying affirmative
action.
 AA as an Instrument for achieving
Utilitarian Goals
• AA programs are morally legitimate instruments for achieving
morally legitimate ends.
• Claims AA programs promote the public welfare, and so increases
utility. Public welfare is promoted if the position of needy persons
(with unmet needs (impoverished), lack of self respect, resentment,
social discontent, and crime) is improved by giving them special
educational and employment opportunities.
• Criticized on grounds that AA is unjust as they distribute benefits on
the basis of an irrelevant criterion.
• Utilitarian answers that need is the criterion by which AA distribute
benefits. (inexpensive indicator)
• Utilitarian justifies because benefits of AA far outweigh its social
cost and having an inexpensive indicator of need will produce
greater utility.
Utilitarian Argument for AA
• The end envisioned by AAP is equal justice.
• AAP are morally legitimate means for achieving this
end.
Equal Justice Argument for AA
• In present society jobs are not distributed justly because they are
not distributed according to the relevant criteria of ability, effort,
contribution, or needs.
• Affirmative action will distribute benefits and burdens that is
consistent with the principles of distributive justice and eliminate
the important position race and sex currently have in the
assignment of jobs.
• to eradicate subtle racist and sexist attitudes are difficult
• the effects of conscious and unconscious bias that affects judgments of
evaluators about, and
• Remove the effect of privation they suffered as children: Economic and social
hardship (hinders from acquiring skills, experience, training etc. and no role
models to motivate)
• To bring them to the same starting point in their competitive race with
others.
 Equal Justice Argument for AA
• Affirmative action aims at a more just society where individual
opportunities are not limited by race or sex.
• A morally legitimate goal is to strive for a society with greater equality of
opportunity.
The means by which AAP attempts to achieve a just society Is giving qualified minority
preference over qualified majority in hiring, promotion and starting special training programs.
– Discriminate against
– It is not a form of “reverse discrimination” because it is not based on invidious
(discriminatory) judgments of inferiority or less worthy of respect nor aims at destroying
equal opportunity (aimed at restoring equal opportunity).
– Violated principle of equality
– It does not use a non-relevant characteristic since race and sex are now relevant in this
limited context. Scarce resources should be distributed to those groups that will best
advance its legitimate ends.
– Such distribution will achieve a socially desirable (Utilitarian) end: when this end
(productivity) conflicts with another socially desirable end (a just society), it is legitimate to
pursue the second end even if doing so means that the first end will not be fully achieved.
• Actually harm because such programs imply that they are
inferior and needs special help to compete- is debilitating and
ultimately inflicts harm greater than the benefits provided:
• It does not harm minorities and women and any harm would be less
than the harms inflicted by current unconscious discrimination.
• Benefits far outweigh the costs.
• Programs are based not on assumption of inferiority, but on the recognition
of the fact that the decisions of advantaged will be biased in favor of other
advantaged.
• Although a portion of minorities may be made to feel inferior by current
AAP, nevertheless many more minorities were made to feel much more
devastatingly inferior by the overt and covert racism that AA is gradually
eroding.
• It is simply false that showing preference toward a group makes members
of that group feel inferior.
Affirmative Action Program
• So, Strong arguments can be made both in support and
against and debate over legitimacy continues to rage without
resolution.

• However, a review of arguments seem to suggest that AAP are

at least a morally permissible means for achieving just ends,
even if they may not show that they are a morally required
means for achieving those ends.
Implementing Affirmative Action and
Managing Diversity
• Other criteria have to weighed when making job
decision in an AAP.
• Decline in productivity
• Jobs having significant impact on lives of others.
• Long-term Effect: turns into a more racially and sexually
conscious nation if continued.
• Success of AAP also depends in part on the
accommodation a company makes to the special
needs of racially and sexually diverse workforce.