Affirmative
Action is a very important term in the corporate, industry and
business sectors in today's increasingly global market. In essence,
Affirmative Action is giving equal employment opportunity – to
test, hire, promote, or retain - any qualified individual, employee
or applicant, without bias to color, religion, sex, or national
origin,
which “federal contractors and subcontractors are legally required
to adopt,” so as to “create as level a playing field as possible
- but level, not tilted.”
On
the other hand, there is also a subtle mechanism that is said to be
at play, and is said to be neither illegal nor illegitimate: social
networking
in order to find a job, as in the case of job-seekers; or looking for
the right candidate to hire, as in the case of prospective employers.
Others term this as “favoritism.”
This
practice of networking has thus given rise to the common belief that
it is “not what you know, it's who you know” that matters.
Several pros and cons of this practice have been pointed out, from
both sides: the jobseeker and the prospective employer.
Some
jobseekers/observers see this practice of networking as somehow
negative:
“I
remember being startled that we were promoting a method that was
clearly subjective and would tilt towards hiring based on secondary
considerations...it implied to me pressure to conform.”
“Whites
believe they should have priority over other groups to economic
security, political power and basic goods and services, anything
that threatens that priority is considered an unfair racial
preference. In tough economic times protectionism becomes the order
of the day - and social networking helps to facilitate that process.
“If
an employee has a referral, regardless of whether s/he is the best
candidate for the position, the referral usually gets the job. I've
always found this an unfair practice.”
From
the employer's/observer's point of view, there seems to be more
rationilizing about it:
“When
a valued and trusted employee comes to you with the name of a
colleague, perhaps someone they've worked with in the past, and
vouches for them, it rightfully carries some weight.”
“Resumes
today are a mix of boiler plate and total fantasy. The private
grapevine is imperfect, but based on decades of small business
experience across several industries, it is wrong less often than
resumes.”
While
there are others that seem to evaluate the practice more objectively:
“Unless
they really think about it, probably most white people are unaware
of how unconscious barriers affect other racial groups. Most wealthy
people are unaware of barriers and hardships affecting the lower
economic classes.”
“The
point is simply that social networks often end up amplifying
inequality that already exists. It's only natural to draw on your
own circle of contacts, and everyone does it. There's nothing
inherently wrong with that, but it does have the inadvertent
consequence of reinforcing and perpetuating the inequalities that
exist between different groups in society.”
“The
majority of successful employed blacks hesitate to reach out and
pull in other blacks fearing being scorned? attacked?...in some way
being taken less seriously in the workplace for their actions. They
do not network to the advantage of other blacks.”
“Networking
is not illegal but can negatively affect Black employment rates
because many White people do not have Black people in their social
networks and White employers frequently use their networks to fill
positions.”
Yet,
there seems to be also some silver lining behind the cloud of
resentment or frustration that calls for challenging this practice,
or the way of looking at it, to render it more beneficial for both
job seeker and employer.
“Moving
to consensus on more equitable redistribution of jobs and wealth
will require confronting the myth of meritocracy and the role of
privilege in sustaining status.”
“Instead
of the usual progressive whine of 'unfair' how about some concrete
proposal to fix the situation?”
More
positive concrete actions are suggested, in support of networking:
“One
of the ways affirmative action can make an impact is by allowing
blacks and other less privileged groups to enter networks that they
would otherwise be excluded from. This has the potential of a very
positive cascading effect for the individuals affected, allowing
them to enter new networks that could drastically impact their
career prospects for the rest of their lives.”
“Sure
there's favoritism against Blacks, but Blacks can emulate what
Asian-Americans have done successfully -open and run millions of
successful small businesses. Asian-Americans have massive sources to
finance their start-ups; successful Black businesses need to create
non-traditional funding sources and incubation for aspiring Black
entrepreneurs.”
“There
are good opportunities out there for African-Americans, but they
need to branch out and expand their networks to find them.”
Most
interestingly, these perhaps are times that call for more boldness or
creativity on the part of jobseekers, whether minority or Whites, if
they do indeed have the talent and skills. As one said, “If
you're waiting to be hired, you're missing the boat. Hire yourself.
"Getting a job" isn't the right answer any more.”
Thus,
“what you know” will rightfully regain credibility and respect
and become one's premium selling point: “Increasingly,
your job is what you create yourself.” In this way, “who you
don't know” does not truly matter anymore, for while it is true
that “social networking is an important part of it, but it
is not
all of it. If you can't do the job, you won't last in this economy.”
On
the other hand, employers need to be on the lookout for more real
talents out there in the marketplace, and go beyond asking their
usual network of people “they know.” “Who you don't know”
should become a priority for corporate recruiters, as they branch out
more - trying
to go as far out of their way -
in search of people who can do “what they can do.”
Organizations
who are indeed dedicated to diversity should by all means exhaust all
means and efforts to reach out to the minority population. “In
the network's strong DESIRE to include minorities, do they advertise
to them directly?”
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affirmative_action_in_the_United_States
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