Apologies, but your article is bunkum.
A sea change. When Hillary Clinton was considering law schools in 1969, she was famously told by a Harvard professor that "we don\’t need any more women" at Harvard. She went to Yale. By the time she graduated, about 15% of law school grads were female. Now, the New York Times reported on Saturday, 48% are. About 45% of associates in US law firms are women (but just 18% of partners; the glass ceiling still exists). There are about 400 female judges on the federal circuit and appeals court benches, or about 25% of the total, meaning that Obama has a larger and more distinguished pool to choose from than his predecessors did.
We can\’t put these changes entirely down to affirmative action.
No, you cannot put them entirely down to affirmative action. In fact, you\’d be very hard stretched to put any of it down to affirmative action.
For, you see, here in the UK we have not had affirmative action over this timescale. In fact, Harriet Harman is only just now attempting to make such discrimination legal in this country in her Equalities Bill.
However, we have also, over that same time period, moved from very few women professionals to some 50% of entrants into professional careers being female.
So, exactly the same change, with and without affirmative action. Difficult to claim that as a victory for affirmative action, ain\’t it?
The preponderance of useless women in the Parliamentary Labour Party however, can be put down to affirmative action.
Hilary Clinton (whatever you think of her politics) seems to be exactly the kind of women who would not need any affirmative action to get somewhere.
Serf. you missed off the last word. You presumably meant
“Hilary Clinton..seems to be exactly the kind of women who would not need any affirmative action to get somewhere, alas.”
The argument that AA ‘got the ball rolling’ in terms of black equality is even more risible, seeing as after AA black advancement relative to whites, as measured by stuff like poverty stats, stalled.
Back in the 50s they were admitting more female medical students. Though on the grounds of them getting married and so not practicing – as they thought there were going to be too many doctors.
Still affirmative action of sorts.