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FAQ's

What is Affirmative Action?

Affirmative Action was first defined as taking positive, pro-active steps to address historic discriminatory practices.  Because the government was the biggest consumer of goods and services in the United States, it was thought that the notion of equality and civil rights could be more rapidly advanced in America by requiring employers to take "affirmative" action in diversifying their work force, as a condition for procuring a contract with the federal government.

The formal mechanism for this was the signing of Executive Order 11246 requiring contractors to develop and implement a written Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) outlining how they were going to bring more diversity to their work force.  This Executive Order was subsequently codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (41 CFR 60-2) and continues to be used today to guide contractors on the development of an Affirmative Action Program.

Good faith, affirmative action efforts may include outreach, recruitment, training and other activities to increase the pool of qualified "protected class" members, which includes minorities and women.  Contrary to popular belief, affirmative action does not mandate that minorities and women be selected "in lieu of" basic job qualifications.  In fact, to make a decision based on race or gender is a violation of the Equal Employment Opportunity concept. 

Here at SLAC, employment and selection decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis (i.e., not in favor or against any ethnic/gender group) and based on skills and abilities first and foremost.  While we are methodically making our Laboratory's work force more diverse and reflective of the local, regional and national labor force, we are doing it in a way that is non-discriminatory and respectful of all in the work place.

What is the difference between Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity?

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is defined by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and amended in 1991 as one of the means by which people can reach social equality in America. It is based on the premise that people who are given equal access to job opportunities will be able to achieve economic and social standing in civic life.  EEO promotes equal access and non-discrimination in all employment practices (e.g., hiring, promotion, training, compensation, and reduction in force actions) and is required of all employers whether private or public.

Affirmative Action is directed at federal contractors (as a condition for contract award) who have both the means and opportunity to help historically marginalized groups to attain gainful employment at federal contractor sites.  It is a mandated managerial plan to realize diversity within the work force and includes "good faith, proactive activities like outreach, special programming, goal setting, recruitment and retention.  It is important to note that while AA promotes a "race/gender conscious" effort to promote and enhance our opportunities for diversity in the work force, it cannot increase diversity by violating the non-discriminatory precept advanced by the Civil Rights Act.

How is this possible?  Case in point.  It is appropriate to do outreach and recruitment to increase diversity in an applicant pool, but the actual employment selection decision must be made in a non-discriminatory fashion and be based on skills and experience.  The only time a "race/gender conscious" factor may come back into play is when skills and experience have been met and candidates are essentially equal.  In such an instance, making a managerial decision in favor of diversity is appropriate and consistent with mandated policies outlined by federal regulators and may be consistent with stated Laboratory-wide goal (e.g., as expressed in annual Affirmative Action Plans).

 In brief, Equal Employment Opportunity is one of the stated goals within the Civil Rights Act and mandates that employers select people for jobs in a non-discriminatory fashion, based on merit, skills and achievements; irregardless of their gender, racial, national origin, or religious affiliation.  Affirmative Action is a specific and methodical program imposed on federal contractors to help expedite the vision of the Civil Rights Act and to achieve work force parity and diversity; especially for those who were historically excluded (e.g., minorities, women, disabled, etc).

What is Diversity?

Diversity within the context of employment is the presence of people in our work force from all sorts of demographics and culture spectrums. These differences can be based on race, ethnicity, gender, perception of ability, age, sexual orientation or nationality.  SLAC celebrate its diversity and have worked methodically towards increasing its diversity within all of our occupational areas.  In order to achieve SLAC’s scientific mission, we need to enbrace our diversity and not let it detract from our work effort.  The ability to be inclusive and to transcend our differences makes for a respectful, collaborative and creative environment . . . all necessary for scholarly work, problem solving and rigorous pursuits.

It has been said that very little can come from a singular, monolithic existence.  It is our differences that can provide us with the ability to examine and view problems from unique perspectives and to increase the probability that someone, somewhere will make an observation or solve a problem not yet discovered.  Many historic discoveries have come from happy accidents and out-of-mainstream thinking.  Increasing diversity gives us more opportunities for such random occurrences and can take us in new directions on age old problems; not yet solved.

What is the relationship between diversity, affirmative action, and equal employment opportunity?

All three are geared towards social equality through employment.  Equal employment opportunity is the means to reach equity in employment (via non-discriminatory practices), affirmative action is a governmentally inspired methodology to address past, historical inequities in employment (via proactive activities) and diversity is both the goal and measurement by which success is determined for equal employment opportunity and affirmative action. 

EEO + AA = Diversity = Social Equality through Employment