Affirmative Action Practices: Non-Discriminatory Hiring in the Workplace

Equal Opportunity employment is more or less the law of the land. One says "more or less" because there are still some pockets of resistance. However, most human resources managers now are very careful to use some form of "Affirmative Action" in their hiring process. Just what is the definition of Affirmative Action? "Affirmative Action is a policy designed to create a nondiscriminatory environment for the management of human resources and the distribution of economic benefits...It means taking a second look to be fair to everyone who applies for a job or admission to college." (Anderson 1996 PG) What stirred up many people was not the previous blatant unfairness, whites favored over blacks or Hispanics, bosses hiring friends instead of the best qualified for the job. It was the imposition of the "second look" principle, whereby those favored prior to the Act now were feeling deprived of fairness by being forced to compete with those mandated by law to be looked at twice (i.e., tacitly preferred).

Having and maintaining a non-discriminatory workplace goes beyond hiring. It also requires an effort at employee retention. The work place has become a far more diversified action arena than ever before. There is more cultural as well as ethnic diversity. There is a vast difference in educational background, even in language or technical skills. There are more women, more older people in the work-place, as literally mandated by the Federal government. Each of these diverse characters must be motivated, must be invited to become a valuable member of the overall team. "There are six dimensions of diversity we consider prime: Age, ethnicity, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, and sexual/affectional orientation" (Loden 1993 19). These are prime because they cannot be "changed" while secondary dimensions can: educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, etc. Everyone, not only management and supervisory personnel are affected, or should be concerned with these dimensions. Diversity is healthy, as long as it is a company policy to respect and not belittle one another because of these diversities. Diversity is a factor in the motivation and empowerment of employees, because there may be substantive areas of motivation for one group with different priorities for other. A common ground can and should be found. This can be effective in a corporate desire to give and take: that is, to provide an honest response to the needs and questions of the employees. "Engaging workers' hearts and souls, not just their minds will be the next catalyst for success in business" (Perle 1997 1).

Today's forward-looking human resources managers need to do several analytical steps to assure the fairness and non-discriminatory policies are maintained properly- not just at the time of hiring but throughout employment. There are several questions that need to be asked:

1) have we adequately explained the rules of our company and the need to live by them and to enforce them?

2) Are we aware of the diversity of today's workplace, and the fact that we may not be able to deal with every aspect of the rainbow of workers in the same manner? In other words, can we hold every employee, regardless of race, creed, or ethnic background to the same standards, and if not, why now?

3) How can we look at what criteria and methods management uses in its selective process?

4) If disciplinary action is a management "failure" can we pinpoint just where the problem lies, and do we have measures to correct or reinforce the hiring criteria?

What may be most important and useful in both hiring practices and "peace" in the work place is some sort of sensitivity training. Certainly supervisors and managers need to have some, in order not to be accused of favoritism. Here is an example of a problem that must be faced: "One of the most common questions asked by whites in...our racism workshops is 'What do I call them?'...Many people of color are weary of education white people and may not want to participate..." (Ayvazian and Tatum 2003 147).

In addition to ethnic and racial diversity in the workplace, and the possibility of discrimination, there is another frequent problem: gays and lesbians. There is now waiting for passage a federal employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) which would "prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. As of 2001, Congress had not passed ENDA" (Schwartz 2003 52). This brings up the question- do we need to "know", or even ask whether someone is Gay or Lesbian or Heterosexual? Is it any of our business? And, is there some reason to suspect that it would interfere with the harmonious work interaction of employees? One therefore has to be not merely color blind and disinterested in ethnicity but also overlook any and all "Gender issues."

What any management- especially human resources- faces in any given business decision of hiring, retention, or downsizing, is that today business must be a meritocracy. Promotions need to be based on results and abilities and potential achievements, not on equalizing the work-force within guidelines of race, ethnicity or gender. A major problem these days in maintaining racial, ethnic and gender equilibrium in the work place is the continuing growth of outsourcing and thus downsizing: there have been many negative comments about outsourcing to lower-paid minority workers in Third world nations which build resentment among American workers. There is no guarantee for anyone in any industry these days, but fairness and merit should be keystones of every hiring and retention policy.

WORKS CITED:

Ayvazian, A. and Tatum, B. D.: "Diversity-Training Programs are Productive" in the volume Discrimination Farmington Hills MI: Greenhaven Press (2003)

Anderson, B. E. "U.S. Still Not Colorblind, Gender-Neutral Society", The Philadelphia Tribune, Aug 20, 1996

Loden, M., and Rosner, J B.: Work Force America! Managing Employee Diversity Homewood IL: Business One

Perle, Ann: "Discover the Hidden Power in Giving and Receiving" Costa Mesa CA: Workforce, Dec, 1997

Schwartz,. H.: "Homosexuals Face Significant Discrimination" in the volume Discrimination Farmington Hills MI: Greenhaven Press (2003)