The Pathway Toward Equality: Affirmative Action

        Affirmative action or otherwise known as employment equity in other areas consists of using policy to favor minorities or disadvantaged individuals within society. Although we like to think discrimination no longer exists within society, it does indirectly. The forum discussed the issue of affirmative action and whether it is needed or if it isn’t. Individuals within the group used evidence to support their views so it was interesting to see the debate coming from each side, for and against affirmative action.

            One group member discussed how minorities earn less compared to the rest of the community. When placed in the same career, a white person earn more than a person of color with the same amount of education, qualifications and experiences. Although this may be an issue, it is important to consider other factors such as gender, personality, values and other qualities. We can’t be sure that race or ethnicity prevents a person from receiving certain opportunities.

            As the discussion went on, someone mentioned how people of color have a greater unemployment rate compared to white people. When looking at qualifications, everyone had college degrees. This piece of evidence suggests that there may be a case of white privilege within society. However, I think it’s important to focus on that facts and understand the reasoning behind why the concept of white privilege even exists. Although discrimination was a huge issue earlier in the century, I think it has reduced by great amounts since then. The concept of white privilege may just exist because they are in fact the majority of communities all around the United States. It is important to consider that maybe they are given more opportunities because they are the majority. The minorities probably aren’t given many opportunities because not many minorities apply for them. They are considered the “minority” for a reason. Being a minority myself, I understand how difficult it can be to receive certain opportunities but at the end of the day, it’s about the qualifications I have as an individual. I don’t think someone should be given an opportunity just because they are a minority. It is based on the experience one has and who is going to succeed the most.

            Harvard is a prestigious university, which uses affirmative action in order to provide equal opportunities to receive admission for all minorities. According to the forum, in the past years, there was an increase of 14-16% of minorities being admitted in to Harvard University. However, Cal Tech is a university that doesn’t use affirmative action. They admit their students based purely on qualifications and their statistics show an increase in Asians by 27%. This shows that, maybe we need to focus more on providing opportunities to the most qualified over minorities.