Do you agree that all affirmative action policies create unjust reverse discrimination?
Answer Hi Brenda, When administered properly, an Affirmative Action plan will not create unjust discrimination. As the Director of Workforce Diversity for Johns Hopkins Hospital, I do not use the term “reverse discrimination” because if there is discrimination it is just that. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based upon race, religion, national origin, color, disability, and sex. In that context, a white person would have a case for discrimination based upon color if in fact he or she suffers an employment action by a person of a different color based upon that status. Affirmative Action was created largely in part with John Kennedy’s remarks that we as a nation must take “affirmative actions” to ensure equal employment opportunities for every American. That does not imply quotas. Quotas are never used unless they are as a result of a court order to remedy proven historical discrimination. These are very few and far between. When an Affirmative Action
