Originally Posted by
DaveReidUK
Do you have any evidence for that ?
Promoting equality and diversity means giving the same opportunities to everyone. It doesn't mean biasing recruitment in favour of any particular group.
This may be out of date; maybe not --
The principal affirmative action legislation in Australia is the
Affirmative Action (Equal Opportunity for Women) Act 1986. This legislation aims to improve the status of women in employment by requiring certain employers to promote equal employment opportunity for women by developing and implementing an affirmative action program.(5)The
Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986 covers all higher education institutions and employers (other than public sector employers) employing 100 or more employees. They are required to develop and implement affirmative action programs for women and to submit annual reports on the progress of those programs. Public sector employers are covered by public sector equal employment opportunity legislation. For example, section 22B of the Commonwealth
Public Service Act 1922 requires federal government departments to implement affirmative action programs in relation to certain disadvantaged groups.There are eight steps to an affirmative action program, as described in the
Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986, which an employer must take, namely:
- issue an affirmative action policy statement to all staff
- appoint a senior manager to oversee the program
- consult with employees, particularly women
- develop a profile showing jobs where men and women work
- review personnel policies and practices
- set goals for the program
- monitor the program and evaluate its achievements.
The Affirmative Action Agency, which administers the
Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986, names organisations failing to submit a report or providing a program. The report is tabled in the Australian Parliament.On 1 January 1993 the Keating Government introduced a policy of contract compliance under which organisations failing to comply with the
Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986 are ineligible for government contracts and specified forms of industry assistance.
Ostensibly "ensured equal opportunity" but, as with American "affirmative action" programs has been roundly criticised, by some, for enabling that which it was enacted to prevent.
You can never level the playing field unless you play a little bit of "catch up" first.
There are programs and policies in the West Australian mining sector that, if closely scrutinised would be seen to exceed simply ensuring equal opportunity employment, to improve employment rates for aborigines. Nobody of any consequence sees these policies as threatening or unfair.
There is room for such policies without anyone being unduly inconvenienced.