Week 6 - Chapter 11

Bakke v. Regents of the University of California

1978 the US supreme court's first major ruling on affirmative action; it rejected explicit racial criteria setting rigid quotas and excluding non-preferred groups from competition

disparate treatment

results when employees from protected groups are intentionally treated differently

why many companies believe in affirmative action

they believe diversity benefits the bottom line

job discrimination

to make an adverse decision regarding an employee or a job applicant based on his membership in a certain group

attitudes that victimize women like Ezold, Hopkins, and Hishon

tougher standards for them to live up to, sex stereotypes, and just a general idea that they don't fit in in a male dominated field

sexual harassment

unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

sexual favoritism

upholding the claims of women to have been discriminated against because the boss was sleeping not with them but with one or more other employees

moral arguments against job discrimination

utilitarian would reject it because of its ill effects on total human welfare Kantians would clearly repudiate it as failing to respect people as ends in themselves. Universalizing the maxim underlying discriminatory practices is practically impossible. Discrimination on grounds of sex or race also violates people's basic moral rights an mocks the ideal of human moral equality Such discrimination is unjust Rawl's theory would argue parties in the original position would clearly choose for themselves the principle of equal opportunity

hostile-work-environment harassment

verbal or physical behavior that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment that interferes with one's job performance

comparable worth

Holds that women should be paid salaries equal to men for equivalent job responsibilities and skills.

two acts that further defined illegal discrimination

age discrimination in employment act (1967 and 1978) and the americans with disabilities act (1990)

where the Supreme Court stands on affirmative action

although the legal situation is complex, in a series of rulings over the years a majority of the Court has upheld the general principle of affirmative action, as long as such programs are moderate and flexible. Race can legitimately be taken into account in employment-related decisions, but only as one among several factors. Affirmative action programs that rely on rigid and unreasonable quotas or that impose excessive hardship on present employees are illegal

affirmative action programs

designed to correct imbalances in employment that exist directly as a result of past discrimination

the difference between disparate treatment and disparate impact

disparate treatment is direct and explicit discrimination and disparate impact is indirect discrimination

how stereotypes can lead to discriminations

evidence of biased attitudes and sexist or racist assumptions also points to significant job discrimination in the workplace. As they try to fit into a work world dominated by white men, women and minorities can be disadvantaged by stereotypes, false preconceptions, and prejudiced attitudes

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

a federal agency designed to regulate and enforce the provisions of Title VII

three arguments against affirmative action

1. affirmative action injures white men and infringes on their rights; POINT: such programs violate the right of white men to be treated as individuals and to have racial or sexual considerations not affect employment decisions; COUNTERPOINT: the interests of white men have to be balanced against society's interest in promoting these programs (utilitarian) 2. affirmative action itself violates the principle of equality; POINT: if equality is the goal, it must be the means, too. such programs are based on the same principle that encouraged past discrimination; COUNTERPOINT: we can't wish the reality of discrimination away by pretending the world is colorblind, when it is not 3. nondiscrimination will achieve our social goals; stronger affirmative action is unnecessary; POINT: the 1964 Civil Rights Act already outlaws job discrimination, many discrimination causes have been won before the EEOC or in court. So we only need to insist on rigorous enforcement of the law; COUNTERPOINT: the absence of vigorous affirmative action programs halts progress

three defining features of job discrimination

1. an employment decision in some way harms or disadvantages an employee or a job applicant 2. the decision is based on the person's membership in a certain group rather than on individual merit 3. the decision rests on prejudice, false stereotypes, or the assumption that the group in question is in some way inferior and thus does not deserve equal treatment

three arguments for affirmative action

1. compensatory justice demands affirmative action programs; POINT: we have a moral obligation to redress past injuries COUNTERPOINT: people today can't be expected to atone for the sins of the past - and why should today's candidates receive any special consideration? 2. affirmative action is necessary to permit fairer competition; POINT: taking race and sex into account makes job competition fairer by keeping white men from having an undeserved competitive edge; COUNTERPOINT: employers have the right to make life fair for everybody - and disadvantaged whites are also out there 3. affirmative action is necessary to break the cycle that keeps minorities and women locked into low-paying, low-prestige jobs; POINT: even if racism and sexism ended, mere nondiscrimination would need a century or more for blacks and women to equalize their positions; COUNTERPOINT: affirmative action has its costs - making everyone racially conscious and causing resentment and frustration

four things to do when you encounter sexual harassment

1. make it clear that the behavior is unwanted 2. if the behavior persists, document it by keeping a record of what has occurred, who was involved, and when it happened 3. employee should complain to the appropriate supervisor, sticking to the facts and presenting her allegations as objectively as possible 4. if internal complaints do not bring results, then the employee should seriously consider seeing a lawyer and learning in detail what legal options are available

how companies can escape legal liability for hostile-work-environment claims

1. they took reasonable steps to prevent and promptly correct sexually harassing behavior and 2. the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of the preventive or corrective procedures establish by the company

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 case that overturned Separate but Equal standard of discrimination in education. Made segregation in schools unconstitutional

Disparate impact

a condition in which employment practices are seemingly neutral yet disproportionately exclude a protected group from employment opportunities

arguments for and against comparable worth

for: believe that women have been directed into certain occupations and held back by a biased wage system; the more women that dominate an occupation the less it pays against: insist that women have freely chosen lower-paying occupations and are not entitled to compensation. They contend that only the market can and should determine the value of different jobs and that revising pay scales would be expensive

four different forms of job discrimination

individual or institutional, and intentional or unwitting

what's puzzling about viewing sexual harassment as sex discrimination

is it only committed by men? what about woman supervisors? or bisexual supervisors who do it both to men and women

sexual favoritism as a possible form of sexual harassment

it can create a sexually charged work environment that interferes with the ability of other employees to do their job. Reinforces beliefs that demand women and perpetuate discrimination against them because a message is conveyed that managers view women as sexual playthings

what's misleading about calling affirmative action reverse discrimination

it implies that it involves prejudice, inaccurate stereotypes, or the assumption that a certain group is inferior and deserves unequal treatment when that is not the case

EEOC guidelines for affirmative action programs

large companies and other organizations should issue a written equal employment policy and appoint an official to publicize their commitment to affirmative action and to direct and implement their program. They are expected to survey current female and minority employment by department and job classification. Whenever underrepresentation of these groups is evident, companies are to develop goals and timetables to improve each area of underrepresentation. They should then develop specific programs to achieve these goals, establish an internal audit system to monitor them, and evaluate progress in each aspect of the program. Finally, companies are encouraged to develop supportive inhouse and community programs to combat discrimination

retroactive payment adjustments

monetary reparations due for past work

quid-pro-quo harassment

occurs when a supervisor makes an employee's employment opportunities conditional on the employee's entering into sexual relationship with, or granting sexual favors to, the supervisor

Civil Rights Act of 1964

outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

what the doctrine of comparable worth requires employers to do

pay women on the same scale not only for doing the same or equivalent jobs but also for doing different jobs involving equal skill, effort, and responsibility

two types of sexual harassment

quid pro quo and hostile work environment harassment

pink-collar occupations

relatively low-paying, non manual, semiskilled positions primarily held by women

statistical evidence of inequality 562-563

studies reveal the persistence of discrimination in American life, and statistical evidence shows wide economic disparities between whites and racial minorities. It also shows significant occupational and income differences between white males, on the one hand, and women and minorities, on the other

what the Civil Rights Act says about discrimination

that it is unlawful to discriminate in employment situations on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

what was decided in Brown v. Board of Education

that racially segregated schooling is unconstitutional

who decides what is sexual harassment

the person who feels uncomfortable by certain actions or statements