Affirmative Action Creates Unfair Playing Field essays

Affirmative Action Creates Unfair Playing Field essays Affirmative action is a controversial topic in society among all races and genders, and is a topic of dispute in almost all aspects of life, in work environments, in colleges and universities around the nation. Affirmative action attempts to put and end to discrimination but the policy also creates discrimination. It is praised for making universities and places of work more diverse and cultural, while others who feel discriminated against and who feel that they are not being viewed on the same scale as other employees and or students of a different race curse it. Affirmative action is a contradicting and hypocritical policy. The policy is outdated and should be taken out of effect in all aspects of society, especially colleges and places of employment. Being accepted to college or receiving a employment position should be reserved for those most qualified, regardless of their race or ethnicity. In 1964 when affirmative action was first put into place, it was intended to assist African Americans who had been fighting for civil rights. It helped African Americans receive equal employment opportunity.(Froomkin, Washington Post) At this time the policy was very much needed. Blacks had been freed from slavery over a hundred years earlier but still faced many forms of racism and were unable to receive equal opportunity. Affirmative action was a policy that was able to address this oppression. The Executive Order stated that companies that wish to bid on federal contracts must follow the guidelines set by affirmative action and keep a required a number of minorities employed.(Philbrook) Affirmative actions initial intentions were set up to help those on need, but affirmative action has now evolved into a system of meeting quotas. Affirmative action in the working environment discriminates against majorities and leaves qualified employees out in the cold because of their background and color of skin. If two applicants were app...

Sesxism Essays - Liberalism In The United States, Abortion

Sesxism Essays - Liberalism In The United States, Abortion Sesxism Feminism And Gender Equality In The 1990's Overall, the rights and status of women have improved considerably in the last century; however, gender equality has recently been threatened within the last decade. Blatantly sexist laws and practices are slowly being eliminated while social perceptions of women's roles continue to stagnate and even degrade back to traditional ideals. It is these social perceptions that challenge the evolution of women as equal on all levels. In this study, I will argue that subtle and blatant sexism continues to exist throughout educational, economic, professional and legal arenas. Women who carefully follow their expected roles may never recognize sexism as an oppressive force in their life. I find many parallels between women's experiences in the nineties with Betty Friedan's, in her essay: The Way We Were - 1949. She dealt with a society that expected women to fulfill certain roles. Those roles completely disregarded the needs of educated and motivated business women and scientific women. Actually, the subtle message that society gave was that the educated woman was actually selfish and evil. I remember in particular the searing effect on me, who once intended to be a psychologist, of a story in McCall's in December 1949 called A Weekend with Daddy. A little girl who lives a lonely life with her mother, divorced, an intellectual know-it-all psychologist, goes to the country to spend a weekend with her father and his new wife, who is wholesome, happy, and a good cook and gardener. And there is love and laughter and growing flowers and hot clams and a gourmet cheese omelet and square dancing, and she doesn't want to go home. But, pitying her poor mother typing away all by herself in the lonesome apartment, she keeps her guilty secret that from now on she will be living for the moments when she can escape to that dream home in the country where they know what life is all about. (See Endnote #1) I have often consulted my grandparents about their experiences, and I find their historical perspective enlightening. My grandmother was pregnant with her third child in 1949. Her work experience included: interior design and modeling women's clothes for the Sears catalog. I asked her to read the Friedan essay and let me know if she felt as moved as I was, and to share with me her experiences of sexism. Her immediate reaction was to point out that Betty Friedan was a college educated woman and she had certain goals that never interested me. My grandmother, though growing up during a time when women had few social rights, said she didn't experience oppressive sexism in her life. However, when she describes her life accomplishments, I feel she has spent most of her life fulfilling the expected roles of women instead of pursuing goals that were mostly reserved for men. Unknowingly, her life was controlled by traditional, sexist values prevalent in her time and still prevalent in the nineties. Twenty-four years after the above article from McCall's magazine was written, the Supreme Court decided whether women should have a right to an abortion in Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113 (1973)). I believe the decision was made in favor of women's rights mostly because the court made a progressive decision to consider the woman as a human who may be motivated by other things in life than just being a mother. Justice Blackmun delivered the following opinion: Maternity, or additional offspring, may force upon the woman a distressful life and future. Psychological harm may be imminent. Mental and physical health may be taxed by child care. There is also a distress, for all concerned, associated with the unwanted child, and there is the problem of bringing a child into a family already unable, psychologically and otherwise, to care for it. In other cases, as in this one, the additional difficulties and continuing stigma of unwed motherhood may be involved. (See Endnote #2) I feel the court decision of Roe v. Wade would not have been made in 1949. Even in 1973, it was a progressive decision. The problem of abortion has existed for the entire history of this country (and beyond), but had never been addressed because

SWK2010 How Can Social Work Practice Address The Resettlement Needs of Research Proposal

SWK2010 How Can Social Work Practice Address The Resettlement Needs of Black and Ethnic Minority Mothers Leaving Prison - Research Proposal Example ences compared to white offenders for similar offences, for example, in 1998 47% of white adult prisoners had a sentence of 4 years and over, whereas, 58% of Asian adult prisoners and 63% of black adult prisoners had received such a sentence Moreover, research has shown an alarming rise in the number of women sent to prison, up to 145% in the last 5 years(Sharp et al, 2006, p.4-5). There are approximately 2.3 million Black and Minority Ethnic women in the UK, making up just fewer than 4% of the total population of the UK, and around 8% of women (Brittain et al, 2005, p.5). Many researchers have shown that black and minority ethnic women are more vulnerable to the criminal activities compared to the white because of lack of education, poverty and cultural factors. Some of these women may enter the prison as single, but return with babies. The resettlement of black and ethnic minority mothers is a big social problem in UK at present. If the resettlement of these minority groups is not done properly, they can cause even bigger social problems than the one they already received punishment. Re-offending costs for the society in UK is around  £11 billion per year according to Sharp et al, (2006). They also mentioned that in April 2001, the Prison Service and DFES (then the DfEE) established a new partnership and forged links with the Youth Justice Board and Probat ion Service to promote coherence in the various strategies adopted to reduce re-offending and support the resettlement of offenders by giving them education and training in prison itself to develop skills needed to find a job after their release (Sharp et al, 2006, p.1). â€Å"The ballooning prison population is making it more difficult for ex-offenders to find settled accommodation when they are released, according to the initial findings of a radical new resettlement project† (Inside Housing, 2008). North (n. d) has mentioned that by 2009, it is predicted that there will be 9000 women in custody in UK prisons