Should affirmative action be used in hiring or promotion decisions in the workplace?

Should affirmative action be used in hiring or promotion decisions in the workplace? Why
or why not? State at least three reasons to justify your answer. Your response should not
be representative of your personal opinion of the topic and should be based on course
concepts and external research from independent sources.
Affirmative action seeks to create opportunities in the workplace for underrepresented
groups. Historically, certain groups have been victims of discrimination. These groups include
women, people of color, disabled people, and in some instances, veterans. Affirmative action has
elicited a huge debate over the years. However, affirmative action should be used in hiring and
promotion decisions in the workplace. Affirmative action is a requirement that has been put up
by the law in certain instances (Walsh, 2016). Companies that do business with the federal
government are required to take affirmative action in their employment procedures. Executive
order 11246 is one of the legal guidelines that relate to affirmative action.
Affirmative action is important owing to the history of discrimination in the United
States. Discrimination has been deeply rooted in United States society. Affirmative action has
become an important remedy in cases that relate to discrimination. Punishing an employer who
has discriminated against an employee on the basis of race or color may not be enough.
Affirmative action can be taken to correct the damage that may have been caused by the
discrimination. In addition, affirmative action is important since it helps in encouraging a diverse
workforce (Walsh, 2016). When hiring employees, it is important to make several considerations
(Nigro, 2018). Diversity is an important consideration, and in certain cases, it can only be
achieved through affirmative action.

References

Walsh, D. J. (2016). Employment law for human resource practice (5th ed.). Boston, MA:
Cengage Learning.
Nigro, L. G. (2018). A mini-symposium: Affirmative action in public employment. In Diversity
and Affirmative Action in Public Service (pp. 141-162). Routledge.