Expert: Michael Troy - 8/16/2005

Question
Hello dear,
I'd like to ask about the affirmative action towards women in The US.First,if it exists and its importance in the american law.And second, how is it accomplished within the employment law or any other law.I'd like to know as well if there's any difference between affirmative action on a basis of sex and on a basis of race.  

Answer
Hi Uri,

Affirmative action is simply an attempt to do something to help an under-represented group become better represented in the workplace, school, or some other institution.  Affirmative action policies for women have been less common in many areas such as school admissions because there is no shortage if female admitees.  Programs have been more common in profession where women have not traditionally sought employment, such as police, firefighters, and certain manual labor jobs.  Some corporations have programs to bring more females into upper management.

Rules for programs for women are pretty much the same as those for racial minorities.  The program must be designed to put an end to the results of past discrimintory actions by the agency in question, exist for a limited period of time, and not "unduly trammel" the rights of the groups not benefitting from the program.

Some legal scholars argue that there is more room for women's affirmative action because such program are only subject to "heightened scrutiny" which is supposedly less than the "strict scrutiny" used for race based programs.  However, the Courts have never very well defined the differences between the two standards.  In practice, the rules seem to be rather similary.

I hope this helps!
- Mike