Affirmative Action

In order to make the employment levels of women and members of other underrepresented groups at the institution better reflect their representation in society, the University has developed a policy statement and list of affirmative actions that are stated in the Affirmative Action Plan for Equal Employment Opportunity.

Definitions of Affirmative Action:

The actual phrase "affirmative action" was first used in President Lyndon Johnson's 1965 Executive Order 11246 which requires federal contractors to "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated fairly during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." Affirmative Action is the commitment made to take positive steps to end the under-representation of protected classes in the workplace.

According to the University's Equal Opportunity Policy affirmative action is the "additional effort to recruit, employ and promote qualified members of groups formerly excluded, even if that exclusion cannot be traced to particular discriminatory actions on the part of the University."

Examples of affirmative action concerns may include:

A university's student body is 10 percent black, while the state's population is 40 percent black.
A supervisor believes that not enough is being done to recruit ethnically diverse employees.
An employee believes that a less qualified person has been given a promotion.
Departments and units make no effort to hire qualified job applicants whom are women, minorities, and members of other targeted groups in job categories where they are underrepresented.

ASU Policies and Procedures Related to Affirmative Action