Human Resources.

Affirmative Reaction

With terrorism and immigration at the forefront, the former hot button topic, affirmative action, has lost some steam.  I think affirmative action policies are very much needed in this country but it’s not as much about racism as it is about access.  Allow me to share with you my tale of affirmative action.

In college, I applied for an internship at a large company through their “diversity internship program”.  The office in which I applied had 3 intern spots available, two general admissions and one diversity intern.  This guaranteed that at least one minority would work there each summer.  So the first summer I got the job as a diversity intern and one of the perks was I received a large stipend (only the diversity intern received this).

By the end of the summer, I had significantly outperformed the other two interns.  My supervisor let me know that if I wanted to return the following year, there was a job waiting for me.  When the time came, I let them know that I had wanted to come back - but not as a diversity intern.  My supervisor was surprised because he knew that I was turning down a significant amount of money.  But the way I saw it, the affirmative action policy worked; it gave me an opportunity to get in the door and I earned my spot as a regular intern.  Plus the open diversity intern spot would make 2 out of 3 interns minorities, or as I would like to call, progress.

Two weeks before I was supposed to start working I got a call from my supervisor.  I was told that one of the interns from last year had a change of plans and wanted to return to the office.  The Vice President of the entire office, who vacations with this person’s family, decided to open up a spot.  I was told that if I didn’t come back under the diversity internship program, then I was out of a job.  So yes, I got my extra money, but I felt like I was cheated.  I was without question more deserving of the position than that other person but my mom unfortunately chose to spend her vacation with the wrong people.

I did everything the right way.  I used the policy to get an opportunity and took advantage of it.  I worked my way to get on a level playing field, and I still ended up losing.  Affirmative action isn’t just about racism, its access.  The Vice President wasn’t a racist.  I knew and worked with him.  He was a guy who was able to do a favor for a family friend.  Sure I deserved the spot, but if I were in his position, I probably would have done the same thing.

And that’s where the problem lies.  If there were more minority decision makers in corporate America then maybe my mother does vacation with them.  I didn’t have the option to call my dad have him hook me up with a summer job.  Affirmative action is needed because it provides minorities with access to a world they wouldn’t reach otherwise.  The day that we won’t need affirmative action isn’t the day that I can get a job…

It’s when I can get a job for someone else.