Bell Curve

Appendix 7The Evolution of AffirmativeAction in the WorkplaceMuch of the current debate about affirmative action in employmenttakes place in ignorance of the original objectives of affirmative actionand the ways in which antidiscrimination law has evolved. Because webelieve that returning to the original intention of affirmative action isa key to progress in social policy on many fronts and because our recommendationseems so radical in the prevailing context, this appendixpresents a full discussion of the nature of the original objectives and theevolution as it pertains specifically to employment tests.Affirmative action in the workplace, as distinguished from thebroader and older civil rights movement, starts with Ttle VII of theCivil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII laid down principles of fair employmentpractice as regards race, religion, national origin, and sex, and itcreated the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) toadminister and promote them. Besides Title VII (as amended over theyears), affirmative action in the workplace comprises subsequent acts ofCongress (and state legislatures), presidential executive orders, rulingsby the EEOC and other branches of government, and landmark courtcases. The basic intent of all of this energetic policymaking has been tomake workplaces fairer to people from oppressed or mistreated groups.As desirable as that goal may seem to just about anyone, a clear notioneither of what it means or how to accomplish it does not emergefrom the documents of this enormous (and spreading) battleground oflaw, regulation, litigation, and commentary. The good news is that manyissues of fair employment practice need not concern us here.' But wecannot avoid looking at how Title VII (and its elaborations) dealt withthe use of ability tests in the selection or promotion of employees; Althoughthe tests are given to individuals, the groups of which they are