Description
Racism and sexism remain prevalent in societies today. Based on this proven premise, the authors of Affirmative Action in Perspective maintain that a policy of equal opportunity as practiced in America is not a feasible, realistic solution to the “legacy of racial and sexual discrimination”. Drs. Blanchard and Crosby have edited a volume which clearly displays their conviction that affirmative action as a policy has the potential to establish a society more equitable than the society we know now. Distinguished contributors to this volume discuss the policy from a level of definition to actual case studies and further, to the theoretical examination of the justice of affirmative action. Throughout the book the urgency of questioning current policies is evident; so too is the need for basic understanding of the realities of injustice which draw the line between the advantaged and the disadvantaged. I Affirmative Action Policies and Programs.- 1 Introduction: Affirmative Action and the Question of Standards.- 2 What is Affirmative Action?.- 3 Affirmative Action and Presidential Executive Orders.- 4 Affirmative Action and the Courts.- 5 Employment Screening, Qualifications, and Gender Discrimination: A Case Study of the New York City Firefighters.- 6 Women in Federal Government Employment.- II Reactions to Affirmative Action.- 7 Resistance to Affirmative Action: The Implications of Aversive Racism.- 8 Affirmative Action and Self-Evaluation.- 9 Who Likes Affirmative Action: Attitudinal Processes Among Men and Women.- 10 Administrators’ Perceptions of Affirmative Action in Higher Education.- 11 Reactions to Affirmative Action: A Case Study.- III Why Bother?.- 12 Labor Market Discrimination in the United States.- 13 Affirmative Action and Aggregate Data: The Importance of Patterns in the Perception of Discrimination.- 14 Affirmative Action and the Challenge of the Color-blind Perspective.- 15 The Justice of Affirmative Action.- 16 Effective Affirmative Action Programs.
