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Affirmative Action

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Affirmative Action
SECTION A: Short questions 1. Is affirmative action morally defensible? Explain
Yes it is morally defensible in that: The tough realities faced in the past created divisions of the past regime between black and white communities and declaration of this policy assisted in ensuring that closing that gap and normalise the conditions at the workplace. In the past South Africa has had many inequalities and imbalances, and blacks were treated in a unfair manner and stigmatized. In 1994 Democracy was declared to abolish all forms of discrimination, later affirmative action was introduced and established .However the introduction of the policy revealed skills and unexploited talent, created more jobs in responsible positions and also allowing our economy, to grow stronger and compete in global markets.

2. In your opinion, which country has successfully implemented the policy of affirmative action and why did it succeed?
America successfully implemented the policy of affirmative action
Why did it succeed?
Affirmative action in the United States began as a tool to address the persistent discrimination against African Americans in 1960s.President John F Kennedy’s Executive Order 10925 mandated “Affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to race, creed, colour, or national origin.
After affirmative action was implemented, many opportunities were created within defined groups within the society .It has been strongly credited by the government and education settings to ensure that minority groups within the society are involved in all programs. The stated justification for affirmative action by its proponents is that it helps to compensate for past discrimination, persecution or exploitation by the ruling class of a culture, and to address existing discrimination

3. In your view, why did South African government choose to implement the Affirmative Action policy and Act, and



References: 1. www.google.com/Affirmative action - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia 2. www.google.com/Affirmative action in South Africa 3. www.google.com/affirmative action debate

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