A solution in search of a problem? Discrimination, affirmative action, and the New Public Service.

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A solution in search of a problem? Discrimination, affirmative action, and the New Public Service.

Gregory Robinson

PADM520 I001 Win 13

03/08/2013

Dr. Bagwell

INTRODUCTION

According to Sally Seldon who is the author of “A solution in search of a problem? Her article emphasizes that Affirmative Action is still needed in the public sector. Seldon states that discrimination is still prevalent within the United States workforce which is an issue many Americans could identify with. The peculiar aspect of this subject is that we are living in the 21^st century not the 1960’s.   The 1960’s was an era of Labor Rights, Civil Rights and Women Rights which polarize  America concerning the subject of equality within the labor market and the society. If discrimination is still prevalent in the public sector, are women and African Americans still the victims of such an issue? According to Haystead’s chart which is featured in Michael Lemay’s Public administration: Clashing values in the administration of public policy textbook. He emphasizes that the public sector has a significant amount of African Americans as employees who occupy high ranking positions.  Amongst the 405,583  ranked employee there’s a total of 86,389.17 African Americans who are ranked as a GS 09-G12 which is a professional status earning between $29,557-$61,040. This means that the federal government employs over 100 thousand African Americans who’ve assumed middle class status within our society. The chart below illustrates the total number of African Americans and Hispanic Americans who are employed by the federal government which amounts to 238,224 ethnic employees. This clearly illustrates that hiring discrimination isn’t a problem within the public sector.

Federal Employment by Salary Level, Race, Hispanic Origin, 2002

Note:Amounts in 2002 dollars.Pay schedules effective January 2002.

Source: Based on data from Statistical abstract of the United States, 2003, Table 502

(Haystead, 2006)

If discrimination is the problem and Affirmative Action is the solution, what group of people is being affected by this issue? As this thesis was being written, the focus and emphasis were naturally targeted towards women and African Americans  but contrary to one’s assumptions, it appears that the discrimination problems of today are more focused on a person’s sexual preference, age or sexuality rather than the traditional concentrations. This means that the elderly retirees and employees from the Lesbian/Gay community might be the center of discrimination. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s   table below, it shows that sexual harassment receipts that been filed from 1997 to 2012 had increased by 5,628 cases. This exceeds racial harassment receipts that have been filed from 1997 to 2012 by 1,315.

Sex-Based Charges
FY 1997 – FY 2012

The following chart represents the total number of charges filed and resolved under Title VII alleging sex-based discrimination.

The data are compiled by the Office of Research, Information and Planning from data compiled from EEOC’s Charge Data System and, from FY 2004 forward, EEOC’s Integrated Mission System.

(Commission, 2013)

Who are the stakeholders of Affirmative Action

Who are the stakeholders? The stakeholders of Affirmative actions are women, senior citizens, the disabled, (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transsexual) African , Asian, Hispanic and Native Americans. Other stakeholders are the employers who hire such a diverse workforce, whether it’s located in the private or public sector.

What is the history of Affirmative Action and discrimination? Although the policy was implemented as an executive order under President Kennedy to open employment opportunities for African Americans under the Civil Rights Act. It was later modified under President Johnson to include women and now it apparently covers senior citizens, the disable or many other individuals from different ethnic groups that weren’t represented in the labor market.   In this modern era of government, affirmative action is facing a new challenge to curb discrimination that not only affects women and African Americans but now the baby booming elderly and people who chooses an alternative sexual lifestyle. An article sponsored by the Center for American Progress (CAP) and The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) address the issues of homosexual discrimination within the public sector. AFSCME and CAP both acknowledge that this issue is cost ineffective due to the significant amount of lawsuits that were filed.

All gay and transgender public-sector workers deserve to be treated fairly in the workplace, not just those who are fortunate enough to live in states or cities with gay- and transgender-inclusive policies. To protect these workers from discrimination, Congress should pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to ensure that gay and transgender workers in the public and private sector in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are afforded substantive legal protections from employment discrimination… (Burns , Graham , & Libey , 2012)

According to the chart analysis below it appears that policies between the years of 2000 and 2012 has been on the rise for issues that is relevant to Gay/Lesbian discrimination and Gender or sexual orientation discrimination. The green and purple lines on the graph clearly illustrate that issues involving sex and sexual orientation have taken precedence over racial policies in the 21^st century. This could infer that as women and people from the gay community increasingly seek employment within public and private that they are more so than ethnic minorities in regards of discrimination .

CLICK TO ENLARGE:

(Analysis, 2013)

How does Affirmative Action affect the “New Public Service Era“?

How does Affirmative Action fit into the new era of “New Public Service”? The “New Public Management Era” might be the solution to the future issues of discrimination in the public sector. One of the reasons is because if the staff from the Office of Personnel and management honors the Affirmative action policy. Then many elderly retirees who are seeking to re-enter the public secter may have a fair chance to gain employment. Elderly retirees will have the right to be considered as an equal applicant under the Age Discrimination Employment Act due to their qualifications, skills and experience.

The (Age Discrimination Employment Act) ADEA was enacted in 1967 to promote the employment of older persons based on ability rather than age, to prohibit arbitrary age discrimination in employment, and to help employers and workers find ways of meeting problems arising from the impact of age on employment. The number of labor force participants protected by the ADEA-81 million people aged 40 and older today-is projected to grow to more than 88 million by 2015…(Rixx , 2008)

Conclusion & Recommendation

What makes Affirmative Action such a polarizing issue within the American society? Many people believe that affirmative action empowers the victim of discrimination which leads to reverse discrimination. Affirmative action is needed to assist in creating an inclusive diverse government that reflects its society . The “New Public Management Era” can be utilized to foster the continuous development of a diverse government by acknowledging the importance of Affirmative action which was implemented under the ideals and executive order of President Kennedy.   The students of the new public management era can accomplish such a feat by ensuring that applicants are being hired based upon their qualifications while   creating measures to prevent discrimination. The new public management era is based upon political theorist and a legislation known as the Citizen Service Reform Act (CSRA) which emphasize that government applicant should be hired based upon the skills, experience and education rather than their political party affiliation.

One of the defining challenges of the ongoing transition from government-centered to multi-sectored models of new governance in the 21st century is maintaining the values that one cherishes in a democracy. One value that has historically been pursued in the administrative state is attaining a workforce that “looks like America.” For some, this means having a public workforce that reflects America’s diversity (passive representation), with less concern about whether that representation influences the substantive policy outputs of public agencies (active representation). To others, looking like America is important so that all groups —especially historically underrepresented or excluded groups — can actively promote and implement public policies that reflect the needs, values, and aspirations of the groups they represent. (Seldon, 2004)

Bibliography

Analysis, T. (2013, 03 02). Policy agenda project. Retrieved 03 02, 2013, from Trend analysis:Policy agenda: http://www.policyagendas.org/page/trend-analysis

Burns , C., Graham , K. C., & Libey , S. M. (2012). Gays and transgender discrimination in the public sector: Why is it a problem for state and government, employees and taxpayers. Center for American Progress and AFSME.

Commission, U. E. (2013, 03 01). Sexual based harassment charges FY 1997-FY2012. Retrieved 03 01, 2013, from U.S.Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/race_harassment.cfm

Haystead, J. (2006). Evaluation of public policy: Swinging the pendulum of administrative politics. In M. LeMay , Public administration: Clashing values in the administration of public policy (pp. 220-243). Belmont, CA, USA: Cengage advantage.

Rixx , S. (2008, June 01). In brief: How is the age discrimination in employment act? A look back into the future. Retrieved 03 02, 2013, from AARP public policy institute: http://www.aarp.org/work/working-after-retirement/info-06-2008/inb159_adea.html

Seldon, S. (2008). A solution in search of a problem? Discrimination, Affirmative Action, and the New Public Service. Public Administration Review, 911-925.

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