reverse discrimination in the work place

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Reverse discrimination in the workplace

Kia Wright

Trinity University

Reverse DiscriminationClick or tap here to enter text. 2

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Reverse discrimination in the workplace

Introduction

Historically, in this country, people worked one job until they are able to retire and collect a

pension. In the twenty-first century, many are lucky to stay in one position for 2-5 years for

various reasons. In the past, workers adhered to archaic rules and demeaning based on

gender/racial norms and stereotypes that were unconscionable and ridiculous. As this country

progressed, laws were put in place to prohibit such discriminatory behavior. Civil rights,

women's rights (women's liberation movement), affirmative action, and anew negative way to

operate in the workforce became prominent.

The Civil Rights Movement began in the 1950s and 60s, as non-violent protests targeting

discrimination and racial segregation in the southern United States. It is rooted in centuries-long

efforts of enslaved Africans and their descendants to oppose racial oppression and abolish the

institution of slavery and Jim Crow. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments to the U.S.

Constitution came after the Emancipation Proclamation and Civil War as a means to grant

freedom to enslaved Americans, mostly blacks. However, federal protection of these rights was

not secured, and the fight to do so continued throughout the next century. The civil rights

movement accomplished the utmost significant advancement in equal-rights legislation for

Americans of African descent since Reconstruction (1865–77). The action continued to grow

with more militant groups forming to address more significant concerns such as cultural,

economic, and political outcomes of preceding racial subjugation. (Carson, 2020)

Definitions

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Reverse discrimination

Discrimination

Affirmative Action

Equal Rights

Racism

Women’s Rights

Movements

Feminism

Activism

Minorities

Inequalities

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In the 1960's and 70's the Women's rights movement, also referred to as the women's

liberation movement was a varied social movement, principally centered in the United States

strive for equal rights and more significant opportunities and personal liberty for women. It

addressed all ranges of women's experiences, from the family, politics, sexuality, and work.

Organized activism by and on behalf of women continued through the third and fourth waves of

feminism from the mid-1990s and the early 2010s, respectively. (Burkett, 2020)

Affirmative action began as a government remedy to the effects of long-standing

discrimination against such groups and has consisted of policies, programs, and procedures that

give preferences to minorities and women in job hiring, admission to institutions of higher

education, the awarding of government contracts, and other social benefits. The typical criteria

for affirmative action are race, disability, gender, ethnic origin, and age. President Lyndon

Johnson (1963–69) initiated Affirmative action to increase opportunities for African Americans,

while civil rights legislation was undoing the legal foundation for discrimination and racial

inequalities. (Britannica, 2019)

Affirmative action, in the United States, is an effort to improve employment or

educational opportunities for members of minority groups and women. By the late 1970s, the

use of racial quotas and minority set-asides led to court challenges of affirmative action as a form

of "reverse discrimination."

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Law and Policies

Reverse racism lawsuits or claims normally occur in the areas of employment or

education and is occasionally, the term also is used to negatively describe programs meant to

advance or promote minorities and address inequality, such as affirmative action. Although the

phrase "reverse discrimination" is not included in federal civil rights laws, these types of lawsuits

are commonly carried as discrimination cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and

other statutes.

Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and an executive order in 1965, the federal

government inaugurated affirmative action policies. Under Affirmative action, federally funded

businesses were forbidden from utilizing aptitude tests and other discriminatory practices against

African Americans. Affirmative action was later expanded to cover women, Native Americans,

Latinx, and other minorities, as well as, and was extended to colleges and universities and state

and federal agencies.

In a landmark case, the U.S. Supreme Court maintained the use of affirmative action in

admissions to college. The Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) decision was

a significant case in which a Caucasian medical school applicant opposed a university's

utilization of race in the admissions process. The Court maintained that race could be one of the

numerous factors in an admissions policy, but that they are not allowed to use quotas based on

race or any additional specific factor (such as age, gender, nationality, etc.)

Fear of Punishment – Ethnic Discrimination in the Workplace (Minorities)

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Avoiding Discrimination of One Group – Discriminates Against the Other

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