Affirmative Action remains an employment legislation protection system that is intended to redress the systemized discrimination faced by women and minorities in hiring practices in America. Originally, Affirmative Action arose because of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s desire to integrate society on educational, employment, and economic levels. It was John F. Kennedy who issued Executive Order 10925 to create the Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity, a commission that evolved into our modern Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), but it was Lyndon Johnson who gathered 300 corporate CEOs together after signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act to “discuss integrating our nation’s workplaces, schools, and economic institutions” (Shelton 1).
While Affirmative Action has gone a long way toward redressing the systemized discrimination against women and minorities that long existed in American society, president, American courts, corporation leaders, educational institutions, and federal and state contractors have been arguing over the merits of affirmative action ever since its creation. We now live in a time where the protective powers of affirmative action are being undermined by constant efforts to dismantle the program, along with racial and gender quotas imposed by federal mandate on contractors and other employees required to meet federal hiring regulations. Despite cries of reverse discrimination because of affirmative action, and some court cases wherein judges supported this claim, others view affirmative action as a necessary employment discrimination protective measure in order to allow normally disenfranchised groups equal access to employment and educational opportunities “Affirmative action expands an applicant pool for coveted spots in the classroom, the workplace, and among those vying for federal, state, or local contracts. By examining the question of ‘qualifications,’ affirmative action include...