Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 7, 1995 TAG: 9504080026
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Of the eight probation officers in Madison County, Ala., three are women and two are black, an example perhaps of how affirmative action has helped build diverse work forces.
But the policy designed to offset past discrimination hasn't made all people equal. After two decades, women and minorities still lag in salaries and promotions.
Melynda Dugdale, a probation officer in Huntsville, Ala., for seven years, earns $18,000 a year, $3,000 less than men who have less seniority than she. A raise promised with a 1992 promotion hasn't materialized.
``The county hires enough women and blacks to make themselves look good, but we still get lower salaries and fewer opportunities,'' said Dugdale, 34.
Dugdale has threatened to sue Madison County for discrimination under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and is negotiating with her employers to avoid the legal web.
Her situation highlights the benefits and the limitations of the Nixon-era policy designed to give minorities and women preferential treatment in hiring, housing, education and obtaining government contracts.
The Republican-controlled Congress this year began taking whacks at affirmative action based on sentiment in some sectors that it discriminates against white men and gives jobs to less-qualified people.
Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole has said he plans to introduce a bill to end the preferences. And, in California, a 1996 ballot measure has been proposed that would eliminate affirmative action in state programs.
As the lines are drawn in the debate, many concede that affirmative action has helped women and minorities break through doors that once were closed to them.
``Affirmative action has had limited success, but still success,'' said Ellen Bravo, executive director of 9 to 5, National Association of Working Women.
Chief executives of those companies believe having a diverse work force is essential as demographics change, companies become more international, and customers and investors grow more sophisticated.
In 1983, 23 percent of employees and 12 percent of managers at Merck & Co. Inc. were women. A decade and several diversity initiatives later, 44 percent of employees and 26 percent of management are women, said spokesman Gary Lachow.
The number of women employees at AT&T has held steady at about 45 percent - large numbers being telephone operators. The percentage of women in top management has risen from 2.5 percent to 11.5 percent.
Yet, many companies have not made such strides.
A recent survey conducted by Minneapolis-based Personnel Decisions Inc. showed that 41 percent of America's largest employers had diversity programs, while 35 percent said they were planning them and the remainder said they had no plans for any.
Another recent report, from the Labor Department's Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, showed that, of senior-level male managers in the nation's largest companies, 97 percent are white, 0.6 percent are black, 0.3 percent are Asian and 0.4 percent are Hispanic.
Women, meanwhile, hold only 3 percent to 5 percent of senior-level jobs in major corporations. Only 5 percent of women in those senior-level jobs are minority women.
``Most women perceive there is a problem with their rights on the job,'' said Karen Nussbaum, director of the Labor Department's Women's Bureau.
Contrary to public perception, most men agree, with few believing they have lost jobs to less-qualified women or minorities, she said. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission data shows that only 1.5 percent of its charges are of reverse discrimination.
If Republicans succeed in curtailing affirmative action, will gains be lost?
Fran Rodgers, who runs Boston-based Work-Family Directions Inc., thinks that, because biases are often subtle and ``hard for the law to determine,'' curbing the policy may not make much difference. ``There will be some decrease in pressure and consciousness, but I don't know how much worse the situation can be."
by CNB