Affirmative action refers to a variety of programs and policies that are race, gender, national origin, and ethnicity conscious. Such programs are targeting women and minorities that had suffered discrimination in the past. History tells us that women and minorities suffered severe discriminations until the middle of 20th century. Women and minorities were treated as inferiors and subordinate status. According to Gilroy, “women were not allowed to enter entire areas of employment such as mining, fire fighting, law, and medicine.
They were not even allowed to vote until the early 1920s. The racial segregation in one form or another forced American Indians, African Americans and Latinos into low-wage, dead-end jobs. No one can deny this historical truth, not even opponents of affirmative action reluctantly admit this (Gilroy 79). Critics of affirmative action have argued that because of affirmative action, white males are discriminated against as a group. They call this a “reverse discrimination.
This argument sounds somewhat believable but it is simply wrong if we look at the facts. Women and minorities today are still significantly underrated in spite of the enforcement of affirmative action programs. ‘According to a 1995 government report, white males hold 95 percent of senior management positions although they make up only 29 percent of the workforce.
White males are still, by a great margin, over represented in most high status categories such as law, medicine, academics and journalism, except for professional athletics (1995 Gov. With these crystal clear facts at hand, how could we possibly argue that white males are discriminated against as a group? They are still over represented (Kivel 12). Affirmative action has been by and large successful. Thanks to affirmative action, more women and minorities, who were denied previously, were able to become professionals. Women and minorities in the high positions are no longer unusual. More women and minorities have been elected to the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Affirmative action also moved people from living in poverty to living in the middle class. The racial animosity and tension between whites and people of color have been noticeably reduced due to affirmative action. In addition, affirmative action is not just an issue of race. It has broader outcome in public policies and programs. For example, there existed and still exists some kind of discrimination against whites who are disabled and poor (Kivel 37). Disabled whites are minorities and they are also taken into account.
Affirmative action reaches every segment of society. It is not excluding white males by favoring others. We should understand and recognize this aspect of affirmative action. My final argument is that affirmative action provides useful benefits to all people in society. As I mentioned earlier, even white males who happen to be classified as minorities can benefit from this. Plus, it provides collective goods to society as it reduces social tension between whites and people of color.
