What Are Equal Opportunities at Work?

Many criticize the diversity quotas created by the EEOC.

Equal opportunity initiatives enable people to obtain jobs, receive fair pay, apply for benefits and receive legal protection for other instances of unfair treatment. The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, EEOC, is the primary agency that is responsible for developing and enforcing the laws and best practice models that help prevent discrimination in the workplace.

History

The EEOC was established per the directives of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law provides protection against discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, skin color, religious beliefs, sex or national origin. Additional acts passed in later years help to clarify the language of the 1964 act, by detailing the rights of particular groups -- for example, pregnant women, disabled workers and educators.

Scope

Equal opportunity protection covers individuals in all stages of the hiring process -- recruitment, pre-application, background checking, interviewing, negotiation and hiring -- as well as all areas of day-to-day employment, such as pay, work assignments, promotions, physical accommodations and benefits. The umbrella of protection offered by these acts applies not only to the workplace, but to all public and private residences.

Initatives

The LEAD program -- Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities -- aims to increase the number of severely disabled workers in federal positions. Through educational programs and career-related events, the Youth@Work initiative aims to empower future workers in disadvantaged populations --for example, protected classes. The E-RACE initiative -- Eradicating Racism And Colorism from Employment -- is essentially an applied research program aimed at identifying and eliminating the factors that lead to discrimination based on race and skin color.

Criticism

Equal opportunity initiatives are often criticized for their hypocritical nature. For example, equal opportunity employers are prohibited from targeting and interviewing applicants in a particular demographic. However, they are also barred from maintaining neutral employment practices and policies. This criteria implies that employers are legally obliged to give special treatment to disadvantaged groups.

References

• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Pre 1965: Events Leading to the Creation of EEOC
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: EEOC Initiatives

Resources

• United States Department of Labor; Equal Opportunity is the Law; November 2009
• National Archives: Teaching With Documents: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ...