Affirmative Action—Making it Effective in the Public Sector

The 2016 impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and the decisions by new President Temer require us to focus on the life and work of Abdias Nascimento. Temer’s actions remind us that the recent efforts of Brazilian governments to be more racially inclusive and egalitarian have not been consolidated and that policies such as affirmative action, the teaching of Afro-Brazilian history and culture, and racial quotas in the public sector are at risk. Nascimento dedicated his life to fighting against White racism in Brazil and promoting government policies to improve social, economic, and political opportunities for Afro-Brazilians. He witnessed and experienced racial discrimination in his own life and observed various responses to it. Nascimento decided that he would denounce it, fight against it, organize Afro-Brazilians to empower themselves, and campaign for a racially inclusive, democratic, and prosperous country. He lived to see the early implementation of some of his policies. Nonetheless, he recognized that 500 years of White racism would not be defeated easily.

Download Full-text

An analysis of affirmative action in a South African public sector department

South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences ◽

10.4102/sajems.v4i1.2633 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 118-132

Author(s):

H. E. Brand ◽

S. Stoltz

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Affirmative Action ◽

Labour Market ◽

South African ◽

Social Economic ◽

Working Life ◽

Measuring Instrument ◽

Cultural Groups ◽

The Public ◽

Action Process

The South African labour market is characterised by a diversity of ethnic and cultural groups. The public sector is experiencing pressure from social, economic, political and legislative circles to make the workplace more representative of the population. This study investigated the affirmative action process in a national public sector department in terms of its employees' perceptions of that process. A questionnaire was developed and used as measuring instrument on a random sample of the department's employee population. Results show that the affirmative action process did influence employees' perceptions of their working life and career, and that the majority of respondents perceived the affirmative action process not to be successful.

Download Full-text

An Analysis of Wage Differentials by Gender and Ethnicity in the Public Sector

The Review of Black Political Economy ◽

10.1007/bf02689935 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 75-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Todd L. Idson ◽

Hollis F. Price

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Affirmative Action ◽

Wage Differentials ◽

Action Planning ◽

Dade County ◽

Occupational Groups ◽

Men And Women ◽

The Public ◽

Employment Patterns ◽

Female Wages

This study investigates the source of wage differentials between blacks, Hispanics, and whites, and between women and men, in metropolitan Dade County (Florida) government, and draws out the implications of this analysis for affirmative action planning. Our distinctive finding is that the primary factor causing observed wage differentials by ethnicity is the sorting of people across occupational categories. Wage decompositions reveal that for males, 70 percent, 88 percent, and 47 percent of the wage gaps between white and black, white and Hispanic, and Hispanic and black, respectively, are attributable to occupation. For females, the corresponding figures are 56 percent, 58 percent, and 51 percent. When comparing men and women of the same ethnic group, occupational employment patterns are found to be an important factor accounting for lower average female wages, yet within major occupational groups women seem to be receiving higher wages (on average) than men.

Download Full-text