EQUITY MANAGEMENT Affirmative Action for the 21st Century

WILLIAM T. YATES

Derrick Bell's latest book, Faces at the Bottom of the Well (1992), provokes deep thought about the pervasiveness of racism in our society, coming as it does from a man many consider to be a pre-eminent legal authority on civil rights. His near-apocalyptic vision pictures, once again, the need to address actively the roots of racism and sexism in our society. For those who think that current gains are enough, he re-emphasizes the continuing need for affirmative action, one of the most important -- and beleaguered -- concepts higher education must address.

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My own perspective has been formed after more than 17 years of work in equal opportunity and related areas in the military, consulting, and higher education. Although there are some similarities between my views and Dr. Roosevelt Thomas' concept of diversity management (Beyond Race and Gender, 1991), my focus will be on a conceptual process, a way of thinking about affirmative action. I want, as well, to look at the success at various institutions of the concept of "equity management" -- a positive solution for perceived problems and concerns with affirmative action -- and most importantly, a new direction for our efforts in higher education toward greater equity and inclusiveness.

The Original Concept

The concept underlying affirmative action was formulated in 1941 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt encouraged minority employment by ordering defense contractors to cease discriminatory hiring. Use of the term "affirmative action" grew in 1965 during President Lyndon Johnson's administration, when he put teeth into minority hiring rules for government contractors. President Johnson's efforts built on work begun by President John F. Kennedy with the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), established to investigate contractors' practices, impose sanctions, collect employment statistics, and ensure compliance with government regulations. Executive Order 11246 (as amended), which President Johnson signed in 1965, obligated government contractors and subcontractors ". . . to refrain from employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and to take affirmative action to assure that employees and applicants for employment are treated without regard to these factors . ."

With these steps, I think that both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson meant that employers not only should. but must be proactive in policies and hiring actions (and by extension, in all areas of employment). Employers were to ensure that unlawful discrimination did not occur and, even more, that their policies and hiring practices did not work to the disadvantage of members of racial and ethnic minority groups and women of all races. Establishing goals was an attempt to ensure that minimum standards of fairness and equity were established and followed.

While affirmative action has had its successes, there has been a persistent and pernicious resistance to its tenets and practices. The causes of resistance include racism, sexism, and a "zero-sum" perception that one group's gains limit the options of other groups because of the fnite "pool" of available positions, promotions, awards, etc.

Economic difficulties -- such as the current recession, job loss through corporate downsizing -- increase this zero-sum perception. Many people develop a mental block or become defensive merely when they hear the phrase "affirmative action," as well as "goals" and "quotas." As Roosevelt Thomas writes:

. . . the negative feelings generated by affirmative action have resulted in a situation where this vehicle is more successful in maintaining previous gains than in producing additional break throughs Even managers who are able to initiate successful affirmative action thrusts must deal with the backlash generated by both white males and some minorities and women . . ." (Beyond Race and Gender, page 48)

The presence of resistance and backlash suggests that we need to move away from an emphasis on meeting perceived quotas to a clearer focus on the original intent of affirmative action. To be sure, enforcement of federal, state, and other statutes is necessary, but it is also important to educate people to understand that we cannot afford the potential waste of talent that prejudice and other negatives have caused for so long. Part of equity management lies in putting goals, enforcement, and sanctions in their proper perspective and by hen stressing positive management and leadership.

Such leadership is built around a commitment to diversity as a strength rather than a weakness. Equity managers actively seek out individuals who are capable and deserving of opportunity; prepare them for service; ensure that barriers to their progress are c leveled; and employ these talented individuals in meaningful ways. While the leadership of equity management is necessary for members of historically under-represented racial and ethnic groups and women‹who will soon be our major personnel resource‹equity management also benefits white males, the physically challenged, members of immigrant groups, and older persons who are still in the workforce (or who may be contemplating re-entry). The "back to basics" approach of equity management permits us to concentrate on what is most important: treating people and using their talents as well as possible.

Proactive Successes

The Department of Defense (DoD), and particularly the United States Army, are arguably at the forefront of equity management. The Army, which first adopted formal affirmative action management in 1972, now has one of the highest percentages of blacks on active duty (28.7 percent, or 202,842 of 706,160), as well as on. of the highest percentages of black managers (11.2 percent, or 9,962 of 88,665 total officers, and 35.4 percent, or 95,977 of 271,354 non-commissioned officers). The ranks of the organization's general officer corps now include 25 black generals, three Hispanics, and five Asians, for a total of 33, of whom four are women, of the 367 on active duty as of last Sept. 30. This group includes General Colin Powell, an African-American who, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the top-ranked general officer for all of the armed services. No other "corporate" entity in America can claim this degree of inclusiveness or equity.

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Higher Education's Role

As Roosevelt Thomas and others have argued, our colleges will have a pivotal role in determining the next steps in managing diversity. There are numerous examples among our Historically Black Institutions (HBls), HispanicServing Institutions (HSIs), Tribally-Controlled Colleges, and other institutions that focus on particular groups. These schools, and particularly the HBIs, have produced higher percentages of minority graduates when compared with predominantly white institutions. For example, in 1990, 27 percent of the total number of black college graduates received degrees from the 86 historically black schools that award the baccalaureate.

Historically Black Institutions are models of what majority colleges and universities might do with equity management. For example, HBls actively seek out students who in the past might not have been first choices for admission at larger, predominantly white institutions. When these students enter HBIs, a concerted effort is made to ensure that deficiencies are corrected, if any exist, in their educational preparation. Students can develop relationships with mentors, who often include the presidents, senior professors, and administrators within the schools. Such supportive environments now attract record numbers of African-American students, many of whom could matriculate at the nation's most selective schools. This combination‹enlightened philosophy, understanding of people, meeting student needs, removing barriers to success, creating psychologically comfortable surroundings‹makes these schools good at equity management.

Historically Black Institutions have been effective because their internal culture values students and sees them as achievers in all areas‹including the physical sciences, mathematics, engineering, and computer science. The ethos in these schools helps students develop a sense of self-worth and a positive identity that allows them to rise to a level of expectation that is considerably higher than in predominantly white institutions. Equity management prepares students for a society that does not yet sufficiently value equity.

Among HBls, the successes reported by Frederick Humphries, president of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, strike a particularly responsive chord. Last fall, his institution led the nation in the number of National Merit Scholars enrolled (73), exceeding those at Harvard (49). One reason for this is the university's aggressive recruiting policy, bolstered by its "Life Gets Better" scholarship program, which not only provides fully paid tuition and fees for students with 3. 5-plus GPAs and SAT scores of 1200 or above, but a stipend as well. The program provides a powerful incentive for students to do well in high school and then in college, since the scholarship is renewable for four years if they maintain accepted standards. Dr. Humphries also has made a personal commitment to vastly increase the number of black students who earn engineering degrees. Currently, with 300 students enrolled in various aspects of the discipline, Florida A&M expects to graduate more black engineers than all other U.S. colleges and universities combined.

Some Suggestions

I maintain that higher education can be in the vanguard of forces that forge effective affirmative action policies in the future, but that we will have to become more aware of how liberal education and diversity are compatible. As Richard Hope of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation has stated, ". . . the understanding of perspectives . . . both the similarities and differences among various groups . . . creates in students a truly strong liberal education ...." He adds that ". . . it is possible to argue, and I would argue, that without cultural heterogeneity, there is no liberal education ...." Our colleges and universities can help set the tone and theme for equity management by helping raise the maximum utilization of all people to an expectation, rather than exception, for our society. This will demand strategic planning and the willingness to look at organizations outside of higher education for possible models of change as we develop national and institutional policies to ensure equity. America is at a crossroads regarding affirmative action. Yet, Americans historically have done well in crises‹and at crossroads.

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Carl Gutierrez-Jones
Department of English
University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106
E-mail: carlgj@humanitas.ucsb.edu