Should a person who never had a head start in life be afforded the same opportunities as someone who has? Should everyone be on an even playing field when it comes to hiring, education and diversity? Yes everyone should be afforded the same opportunities on the same playing field so we can all essentially have the same starting point. Nobody should not be afforded an opportunity off the strength of something they cannot control. Due to many individuals careers being affected by race, discrimination, and diversity in society affirmative action is absolutely necessary.
Affirmative action deals with the targeting of those who have not had the same opportunities to succeed due to past traumas within society regardless of gender, race, religion, etc. When it comes to corporations and their hiring process there has always been a stigma of meeting a quota. When you here quota this is referring to having or wanting a limited quality of something or someone. An even playing field needs to be established because minorities, different genders, etc are all being penalized for something that they cannot control. Affirmative action is set in place to get rid of this mindset and have peopled get hired solely off of can they do the job that is presented. The Army has also gone in the right direction of affirmative action when it comes to DA photos. The new memo regarding DA Photos states “Data that identifies a soldier’s race, ethnicity, and gender on the Officer Record Brief and the Enlisted Record Brief will be redacted as a part of the board file.” (McConville & McCarthey, 2020, p.1). The United States is said to be the place where dreams are made and you can accomplish anything here. Without affirmative action this is not possible. We need affirmative action to establish the base that states no matter who you are you must put in the work to get to where you want in life. Equal standards for hiring within a corporation should be established and maintained.
Is affirmative action necessary? Yes, and it will always be necessary. When it comes to affirmative action it is very prevalent that our education system plays a massive role in the youth today. Affirmative action has taken our education system by storm because with the placement of affirmative action it has allowed people of color to be better represented to get higher education. Private high, middle, and elementary schools have shown us that not everyone gets a fair shot to a better education. Minorities are usually found in communities that lack a good education system.
If there isn’t affirmative action then often minorities will be stuck in these communities and at these schools/institutions. Affirmative action doesn’t only help minorities get into better schools but it also helps the schools in the low income communities get better as well. College education also takes a big hit when it comes to this topic. “Despite the barriers low-income students and students of color face to gain access to higher education, research has shown that once admitted to top-tier institutions, low-income students complete their degree at higher rates and earn almost as much as wealthy students postgraduation.” (Maxwell & Garcia, 2019 p.1). Minorities just need the same opportunities as others and they can succeed in every way possible. At one point in time minorities especially black people were not even afforded a higher education. This is one of the many reasons Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) were made. All of the HBCUs offered an education for black people when other schools would not allow them to attend. Although HBCUs are still around today affirmative action has helped black people get into all universities and also for students of a different race to attend HBCUs. Society has made steps in the right direction to put minorities in a better position to succeed and be on an even playing field but society is still not perfect. This is exactly why affirmative action is still necessary. Until society has made everybody equal when it comes to affirmative action then it will still be necessary.
All minorities, genders, people of different religions, etc. should have an equal shot at an education. Diversity comes in all different shapes and forms to include gender, religion, race, etc. Affirmative action affects diversity in a huge way. Diversity is great. Diversity helps build everyone up around them because without diversity many people are closed minded and territorial. The benefits of diversity are noticed when it comes to college and your career after college. “These benefits may translate to better economic outcomes and, among other payoffs, prepare students to work in a diverse global economy, increasing the productivity, effectiveness, and creativity of teams.” (Maxwell & Garcia, 2019 p.1). The world is Diverse and so is our nation. We should be preparing our youth for the diversity that’s to come once they are not in school anymore.
The one thing in common that corporations, small businesses, and entrepreneurs, have is that diversity can help make them better. Now that the work force is beginning to increase its number of minorities and women this is a blatant reason why America is great. America is great because its diversity is growing every single day. Affirmative action is necessary for diversity because without it America will not be able to grow and progress in the way we truly want it to.
In conclusion what is affirmative action? Affirmative action is promoting opportunity to those of a minority group who don’t have the opportunity to begin with. No matter your gender, race, religion, etc. if you have not had the opportunity that the majority has had because of something you cannot control then you should be afforded the opportunity so you can be on an even playing field in life. Is affirmative action still necessary today? Yes affirmative action is still necessary today and will be until everyone is afforded the same opportunities. These opportunities included but are absolutely not limited to religion, race, and gender of individuals within our society.
References
Maxwell, C., & Garcia, S. (2020, June 18). 5 Reasons to Support Affirmative Action in College Admissions. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2019/10/01/471085/5-reasons-support-affirmative-action-college-admissions/
Bloomenthal, A. (2020, February 05). What Affirmative Action Means for Businesses. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/021215/guide-affirmative-action-and-business.asp
Minitrez, H. (2020, June 27). Elimination of DA Photo, Race, Ethnicity & Gender Info From Soldier Records. Retrieved from https://www.army.mil/article/236851/elimination_of_da_photo_race_ethnicity_gender_info_from_soldier_records