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Three Myths about Affirmative Action
MYTH #1:
We don't need affirmative
action any more.
FALSE.
Though progress has been
made, people of color and women are still more likely to be
unemployed, employed at lower wages, and hold jobs with a lower base
pay. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Glass Ceiling Commission Report of
1995 states that while white men make up 43% of the Fortune 2000
workforce, they hold 95% of senior management jobs.
MYTH #2:
Affirmative action favors
people of color and women, leading to reverse discrimination.
FALSE.
Affirmative action merely
enables people who might otherwise be shut out, to get their foot in
the door. Affirmative action permits factors such as race, gender and
national origin to be considered when hiring or admitting qualified
applicants, keeping the doors of opportunity open.
MYTH #3:
Affirmative action really
means quotas.
FALSE.
Quotas are illegal. With
affirmative action, federal contractors and employers must establish
goals and timetables and make good faith efforts to meet them. But a
legal affirmative action plan does not include quotas.
Produced by the ACLU.
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