Equal Employment Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and Diversity in Government

Equal employment opportunity is largely viewed as a means to prevent discrimination in the workplace. Although the employment of women in the government service in the United States actually predates the formation of the Union, women have generally not been treated as equals in the federal service. Legal barriers and prejudice aside, women faced a number of substantial problems in gaining and retaining federal employment. Gender discrimination in employment was by no means a significant concern of the civil rights advocates of the early 1960s. Its prohibition only became part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because of Congressman Howard “Judge” Smith. Most states and the federal service provide a five-point advantage to qualified veterans and a ten-point advantage to disabled veterans. Public employment at the state and local government levels presents a somewhat different picture. In contrast, goals are flexible benchmarks or indicators of an organization’s desired level of protected-class employment.