Affirmative Action at Work: Law, Politics, and Ethics

Abstract

In Affirmative Action at Work, Bron Taylor unites theoretical and applied social science to analyze a salient contemporary moral and political problem. Three decades after the passage of landmark civil rights laws, criteria for hiring and promotion to redress past discrimination and the sensitive quota question are still unresolved issues. Taylor reviews the works of prominent social scientists and philosophers on the moral and legal principles undergirding affirmative action, then reflects on them in light of an empirical study. Using participant observation, in-depth interviewing, and a detailed questionnaire, he examines the attitudes of four groups in the California Department of Parks and Recreation: male and female, white and nonwhite workers. Because the department has implemented a strong programme for ten years, its employees have had first-hand experience with affirmative action. Their views about the rights of minorities in the economy are often surprising. Affirmative Action at Work carefully navigates the maze of issues that have made affirmative action programs so difficult to formulate and implement. It presents a comprehensive picture of the cross-pressures - the racial fears and antagonisms, the moral, ethical and religious views about fairness and opportunity, the rigid ideas - that guide popular attitudes. Along the way, we confront our own feelings about other racial and ethnic groups and the timeless ethical dimensions of a troubling contemporary problem.