Discrimination can be defined as the “treatment or
consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or
thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing
belongs rather than on individual merit” (Discrimination, 2015). If we look at the definition of affirmative
action we will find it is defined as “the encouragement of increased
representation of women and minority-group members, especially in employment”
(Affirmative Action, 2015).
Based on these definitions, wouldn’t affirmative action be
considered as a type of discrimination? Those
who object to affirmative action make the following arguments: (1) affirmative
action is reverse discrimination.
Affirmative action (2) hurts white applicants, who (3) are often more
qualified. It additionally can be argued
that affirmative action stigmatizes blacks.
Some argue that (5) the practice of affirmative action deprives
employers their right to hire whoever they want (LaFollette, 2007).
Recently major corporations such as Google and Facebook came
under scrutiny for failing to incorporate diversity in their workforce. At Google it was found that “Just 1% of its
tech staff are black. Two percent are Hispanic. The one well-represented
minority group is Asians, who make up 34% of the company's tech workers.
Eighty-three percent of Google's tech workers internationally are male. For non-tech jobs, the number is 52%” (“Tech:
Where the,” 2014). What can we derive
from these statistics? Are blacks and
Hispanics not pursuing tech jobs? How is
it possible that only 13% of Googles workforce is represented by women? This disparity has seemed to be a wakeup call
for organizations as they begin to be put under the microscope. Facebook has not fared any better to
represent minorities and women. Guynn
(2014) wrote “The lopsided numbers are just the latest from a major Silicon
Valley company to paint a stark picture of an industry sector dominated by
white men and are sure to escalate an already heated debate over the lack of
diversity in the tech industry” (para. 2).
With all of the recent attention on these two companies, it will be
interesting to see what stance they take on affirmative action. Obviously with the amount of scrutiny both
organizations are under I imagine that they are beginning to feel pressure from
outside of their organizations to be more equally represented. What moral implications do Google and
Facebook face if they continue on with their current hiring trends? Is it ethical for others to pressure these
companies to hire more minorities and women simply because they are not
represented? It can be argued that maybe
these classes are not as qualified to work in these positions.
In my opinion there should not be affirmative action. If you are underqualified and undereducated
then you should not be given something simply because of the color of your skin
or your gender. For example is it
stereotypical to say that Asians are more inclined to be efficient in
technological jobs or does the data support that more Asian pursue these
fields? I do not hear an outcry from NHL
fans for more black players to play. Is
it because the NHL is against minorities or is it because not enough African
Americans play hockey? If you look at
the active starting NBA rosters how many white player do you find? Not many.
It is not because there are not enough good white players, it just so
happens that the majority of really talented basketball players happen to be
black. Is there an outcry or call for
support for more white players to play in the NBA? Not the last time I checked. I think that organizations would be immoral
to exclude certain groups of races or gender.
However if they are simply hiring the most talented individuals then I
cannot fault them for that.
Affirmative action. (2015). Retrieved
from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/affirmative action?s=t
Discrimination. (2015). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/discrimination
Guynn, J. (2014). Status update: Facebook not so diverse.
Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/06/25/facebook-diversity/11369019/
LaFollette, H. (2007). The Practice of Ethics. Malden, MA:
Blackwell Publishing.
Weise, E. (2014). Tech: Where the women and minorities aren't.
Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/05/29/silicon-valley-tech-diversity-hiring-women-minorities/9735713/
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