Equal Opportunity Employment

Equal Opportunity Employment

The topic I would like to focus my term paper on is equal opportunity employment. This paper will review various sources of literature about this particular topic. In my research paper I will be discussing more in depth the various types of discrimination that applicants experienced and the laws that now protect them. My topics will include: race, gender, religion, equal pay/ compensation, pregnancy, disabilities and age. I feel that this is a very important concept in Human Resource Development and Management. This is vital because everyone deserves the opportunity to be judged on their abilities and skills, not by the things that define them as a person. In this paper I will go in depth reviewing literature about this controversial topic, in hopes of gaining a great understanding and personal knowledge.

From the very start it is essential to understand the role that Affirmative Action has played in establishing Equal Opportunity Employment practices. The main purpose of Affirmative Action was to discontinue historic traditions that purposely left minorities and women having no opportunities for advancement in the workplace, even after the passing of Civil Rights Laws. Affirmative Action is a very controversial issue because there are pros and cons. One on hand it is necessary to ensure that minorities have a fair opportunity in employment and education. Historically minorities and women where legally excluded from positions of employment that where many filed by white employees. Since Affirmative Action various establishments and places of employment reserve a certain number of slots for minorities and women. In the eyes of those who it benefits Affirmative Action is great because it gives them the opportunity to get their foot in the door into situations that before where closed. On the other hand, those that do not benefit say it promotes “reverse discrimination”. This is where whites may have not been chosen for a particular opportunity simply because they are white. I personally feel that Affirmative Action is a great thing. It allows minorities and women opportunities to grow and establish themselves in society, place that before seemed unattainable simply because they are black.

In a society that is constantly changing it is important for employees and employers alike to see the benefits of managing a diverse workplace. Diversity is having employees of different cultures respect each other's differences. It means understanding that each person is unique, and recognizing their individual differences. Those differences include: race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs and political beliefs. By encouraging employees to accept diversity, employers are promoting a safe environment where employees learn to celebrate uniqueness, not simply tolerate one another. The concept