Does present-day racism justify maintaining affirmative action?
Psychologists and other social scientists have documented the many forms of racism that continue to mar marketplace employment decisions. Today these forms of racism are more evident in less overt yet widely held beliefs, attitudes, and prejudices than they were in the past. The subtle nature of these forms of racism suggests that passive EEO programs may not be sufficient to prevent discrimination. Contemporary, more indirect, forms of prejudice can be divided into two types (Dovidio and Gaertner, 1995). • Aversive racism refers to negative feelings that lead to avoidance but are likely to be justified by some other reason. For example, a white male television station manager fails to hire a black applicant for the position of news anchor because he fears the audience will not respond to a black news anchor, but he justifies his decision by saying it was based on economics. • Symbolic racism refers to the development early in life of negative feelings people have toward members of oth
