Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action

Introduction

The phrase "affirmative action" was first coined in 1961 by Hobart Taylor Jr., a black lawyer working for the administration of President John F. Kennedy (D). Taylor used words in drafting an executive order that created the president's Council on Equal Opportunity, a panel that encouraged federal contractors to voluntarily hire more blacks. (Anderson 2004) Affirmative action is a policy or practice that provides members of minority groups and women greater opportunities in employment, education, housing, and other areas of life. Affirmative action not only forbids employers, landlords, and others from discriminating on the grounds of race, sex, religion, or other factors, but it also aims to actively encourage the recruitment, hiring, and promotion of members minority groups and women.

Interview 1

The interview discussions reflected the difference in definitions and beneficiaries.

With regard to definitions: The general understanding was that affirmative action is about providing opportunities for previously disadvantaged people. Managerial and editorial staff focused on individual empowerment and were thus more in keeping with the 'managerial' viewpoint. Journalists however focused on collective empowerment (except for interviewee 19). They were thus more inclined to support the trade union definition of affirmative action.

Regarding beneficiaries: The interviewees had different perceptions of who qualifies for affirmative action. Generally, white and older males felt that it applied to race alone while females and younger males, both usually from disadvantaged communities, felt that it included both race and gender.

The question "What do you understand by affirmative action?" was put to all the interviewees. Some of the responses follow. The responses not only related to their understanding but also indicated the beneficiaries of affirmative action.

A young black female journalist (3) responded:

My understanding is that there have been people who have been disadvantaged. These include blacks, Indians, coloureds and women. They are disadvantaged by not being able to enter the job market equally to another group of people and to me affirmative action seems to address that issue by allowing fair chance to all.

An older coloured male and a union representative (2) stated:

Affirmative action for me is the redressing of that situation where people who were previously disadvantaged (blacks) are given the opportunity to develop … even if they do not have the highest qualification.

A white male editor (17) said:

A mechanism, to address the wrongs of the past, in as much as they impacted on people who weren't given the opportunity. My understanding is that people from previously disadvantaged backgrounds… (in terms of race … women are not seen as having the same priority… ) will be given the same opportunity to reach higher status on the basis that should the candidate be of the same quality as a white candidate, that person will get the job. With a view to bring to our company, through all the steps of seniority, a balance which somewhat reflects the society we live in.

An Indian female manager (5) expressed:

Affirmative action is an opportunity for people, the less privileged from before, it doesn't necessarily mean that you are a black person, you could be ...