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Affirmative Action & Equal Opportunity

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Why do we as a society still need Affirmative Action?
Affirmative Action is an action or policy that ensures steps are taken for the purpose of eliminating the present effects of past discrimination (Dressler, 2013). Discrimination is one of the biggest problems people face in the workplace and it must be dealt with forcefully. Affirmative action also ensures that qualified individuals have equal access to opportunities, are given a fair chance to contribute their talents and abilities and ultimately have a positive impact on all members of our society.
The main reason that we as a society still need affirmative action is that discrimination still exists. Discrimination is prejudice in action which takes specific actions toward or against the person based on a person’s group (Dressler, 2013). Affirmative action has a critical connection to creating diversity in our workforce and in our educational institutions across the nation. Affirmative action programs have encouraged women to enter traditionally male-dominated fields with higher salaries and provide other ethnicities with access to educational & professional opportunities they would otherwise have been denied despite their qualifications. Even though there have been great improvements in opportunities for women and a person of color, discrimination is a subject fought daily. On the other hand, there’s a widespread perception that minority students have an easier time of getting into school.
Although we have made significant progress in recent years in creating equal access to opportunities, there remains a lot of work to be done. Affirmative action presents itself as a working solution to addressing existing discrimination and promoting equal opportunity so ending it would have dire consequences. For example, educational and job opportunities for women, veterans, handicapped individuals and people of

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