Introduction
Affirmative action has long since been an issue regarding employment practices. Affirmative action takes an opposite approach to employment practices over the nondiscrimination approach. The nondiscrimination approach, certain classes of people is protected from being discriminated against on the basis of race, gender, national origin, and religion. In contrast, the affirmative action programs offer individuals such as women and minorities a chance at equal employment opportunities and representation through positive, results-oriented practices that purposely take race and gender into account. The absence of clear cut and positive affirmative action programs make it virtually impossible for race and gender equity and representation to be achieved within most organizations.
Affirmative Action 3
Employment practices involving affirmative action have been a controversial issue among the public and private sector human resource departments for many years. The definition of affirmative action "refers to various efforts to deliberately take race, sex, and national origins into account to remedy past and current effects of discrimination. Its primary goal is to ensure that women and minorities are widely represented in all occupations and at all organizational levels" (Tompkins, 1995, p. 161). Another definition of affirmative action according to Bergmann is "planning and acting to end the absence of certain kinds of people-those who belong to groups that have been subordinated or left out-from certain jobs and schools" (1997 p. 7).
Title VII was enacted by the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII references to affirmative action programs were brought about "because of the history of discrimination in the United States, certain groups are at a disadvantage in the current marketplace. Thus affirmative action laws impose temporary requirements to correct...