Social Equity
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER
12
Social Equity
I. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading Chapter 12 in the textbook, the student should be able to:
1. Define social equity and explain why its advancement is
important in public administration and trace the evolution
of equal protection policies through different court cases
and challenges.
pp. 469–473
2. Analyze the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its other nonracial
pp. 474–478;
II. SUGGESTED LECTURE
A. Social Equity
In the public sector, the term “social equity” means fairness, egalitarianism, protec-
tion of rights and equal treatment in the delivery of services. Although the United
B. The Challenge of Equality
While the 1776 Declaration of Independence proclaimed that “all men are created
equal,” both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution denied this
right to African-American residents, women, and to other groups such as the phys-
ically and mentally disabled.
1. Racism: Our textbook defines the term “racist” as a person who overtly or
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II. Suggested Lecture
2. The Bitter Heritage of Slavery: The importation of Africans provided slave
labor on American plantations beginning in colonial times despite the decla-
ration that “all men are created equal.” Slavery was supported by the Con-
3. Two Reconstructions: After the Civil War the racial question was still not set-
tled, and many states enacted Jim Crow segregation laws. The Supreme Court
4. Legislative and Administrative Fixes for Racism: The growing concern about
inequality in America, led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) came into being in 1964 to
C. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
EEO applies to employment procedures and practices that are intentionally or unin-
tentionally discriminatory in the areas of race, color, gender, religion, and national
origin. It now also includes age, pregnancy, and disabilities.
1. Origins of Affirmative Action: President Kennedy’s Executive Order 10925 in
1961 first used the term “affirmative action.” It meant the removal of “artificial
2. The Case For and Against Affirmative Action: Proponents argue that affir–
mative action, by bringing all segments of society into the mainstream,
elevates the moral and social consciousness of the whole society. They claim
that affirmative action is not about hiring the unqualified, or about quotas,
preferences, or denying the rights of white males. “Reverse discrimination” is
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Currently—events since the riots in Ferguson, MO and Baltimore and other cities
following shootings involving African-Americans and police have raised significant
questions about police tactics and discrimination.
D. Nonracial Discrimination
1. Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment: The Civil Rights Act, as
amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, declared sex
discrimination illegal, and today sexual harassment is included in the sex
2. Pregnancy Discrimination: Employment practices that exclude pregnant
women (or women contemplating having children) were classified as discrim-
ination in a 1978 statutory amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 is the latest companion statute.
3. Age Discrimination: The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) was
first passed in 1967 and often amended thereafter. It covers all employees in
the public and private sectors.
4. Disabilities Discrimination: In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with
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III. Assessments
E. Public Administration and Social Equity
Public administrators must be cognizant not only of the details of public law,
III. ASSESSMENTS
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. A proactive effort to include women and minorities in appropriate numbers
in the workplace, and an effort to provide compensatory justice for them is a
law known as:
a. Executive Order 10925.
b. The Civil Rights Act.
c. Affirmative Action.
d. both a. and c.
p. 475, d
2. Which of the following is not prohibited under the provisions of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, and its amendments?
3. Sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination, under the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 does not yet:
a. include quid pro quo harassment.
b. include pedophilia.
c. include hostile environment harassment.
d. exclude harassment of men by women.
p. 486–487, b
4. Social equity in the public sector is:
a. about the fairness in delivery of public services to all.
5. Civil War Amendments to the Constitution that attempted to settle the issue
of slavery and civil rights were the Amendments.
a. Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth
b. Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth
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c. Twentieth, Twenty-First, and Twenty-Second
d. Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth
p. 473, d
6. When a black man in the old South was not permitted to drink from a
water fountain labeled “whites” this “separate but equal” doctrine was
upheld by this Supreme Court decision:
a. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas
b. Dred Scott v. Sanford
c. Plessy v. Ferguson
d. Gratz v. Bollinger
p. 493–494, c
7. The policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” was:
a. created by President Clinton.
8. Nonracial discrimination includes:
a. sexual discrimination, and sexual orientation discrimination.
9. The statement—“You do not take a person who, for years, has been hob-
bled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race,
and then say, ‘You are free to compete with the others,’ and believe you have
been completely fair”:
a. was a statement made by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
b. was used to justify the need for affirmative action.
c. referred to sports procedures in the Olympics.
d. a. and b.
p. 476, d
10. Father Mike Murphy wants to hire a young man to clean and wax the
church floors, of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, including the altar and sac-
risty, but requires that the hiree be a Catholic. Father Murphy is invoking
11. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is that part of the legislation that
prohibits
12. The comprehensive law banning discrimination against individuals with
physical or mental disabilities in employment, transportation, telecommuni-
cations, and public accommodations is:
a. the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
b. the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
c. the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.
d. none of the above.
p. 489, d
Chapter 12 Student Self Assessment Questions
Q1 What is social equity?
Q2 The Courts have provided equal protection for many groups of citizens in
our society. What was the Supreme Court Case in 2015 that brought those
same protections to gay people in the United States?
Q3 What term summarizes workplace intolerance toward those who are
different?
Q8 What term describes the process of directing the work of a racially and
culturally heterogeneous group of employees to bring a more varied set of
perspectives to organizational problems?
Q9 Which of the following is not among the four 1998 cases used by the
Supreme Court to offer further refinements on the definition of sexual
harassment?
Q10 Why have the US armed forces been so much more successful in their
affirmative action efforts than society as a whole?
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Q12 What was the Supreme Court’s decision in the Brown v. Board of
Education of Topeka, Kansas case of 1954?
Q13 The concept that all social groups have a right to participation in their
governing institutions is known as what?
Q14 Which of the following acts requires employers with at least 50 workers
to allow up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period for all
Q18 What is the term for a practice generally understood to mean
discrimination against white males in conjunction with preferential
treatment for women and minorities?
Q19 Discrimination against those who are considered old is known as what?
Q20 What is the first approach to legitimately and honorably advance social
equity by all public administrators?
Q21 What is now the positive effect of the initial problem with social equity in
service delivery?
Q22 Which of the following cases did not involve government set-aside
IV. ACTIVITIES
Individual Exercise: Critical Thinking—“All Men Are
Created Equal”
Critically evaluate this statement made by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration
of Independence. What did the statement mean to the Founding Fathers? In your
opinion, was the intent just? If you were writing a “Declaration of Justice” in the
twenty-first
century, how would you reframe this statement?
Instructor’s Note: Students should respond to the first question on an historical
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IV. Activities
Class Exercises: Thought Pieces on Social Equity
You are the director of an organization called Pennsylvania Diversity, a non-profit
organization in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. You have a B.P.A. (bachelor’s degree in
1. Social Diversity In The Workplace Context
2. Diversity Of Life In The Environmental Context
a. Balancing the rights of human beings versus the rights of other living
Additional Discussion Issues with Instructor’s Notes
1. Do you think that enough has been done by the government today to ensure
a level playing field in terms of race, color, and ethnic origin? Do you believe
that a person with HIV, or AIDS, or some other kind of chronic illness,
should be considered a disabled individual under the Americans with Disabil-
ities Act?
Instructor’s Note: Despite legislative acts and Supreme Court decisions
on the issue of racial equality, there has been continuous need for reinter–
2. The authors note that “The United States has a long tradition of using legis-
lation to mitigate the ‘force of circumstances’ that so often inhibits equality.”
Explain this statement. What, in your opinion, are some of the most notable
governmental policies that have helped foster the ideal of equality in the
United States?
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Instructor’s Note: Government regulation has assisted the case for equal
3. Why should public administrators familiarize themselves with details of
social equity laws?
Instructor’s Note: Students should note that there is: 1) A moral obliga-
Writing Exercises
Using one of the following key words or phrases of your choice, write a short
analysis linking the word or phrase from the scholarly text to an incident in your
workplace, your daily life, a media report that you have heard, or a historical event.
Critical Thinking: “Social Equity and the Politics of Taxes”
A different type of social equity issue, but one likely to raise more dissent and
debate in the future—especially in fragile economic times—is the issue of taxes,
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V. Additional Web Resources
and billionaire peers disagree with him. As in every wedge issue, there are two
sides to the debate. Some of wealthy Americans say that it is their taxes that keep
the country going. They claim that it is their efforts that create jobs in the country.
Others claim that the lower-income citizens got that way due to laziness, lack of
Middle class Americans and the poor argue differently. They say that the mid-
dle class has been sliding into poverty at faster rates since 1993. They further argue
that 99 percent of the US population purchase and consume more than the top
1 percent richest citizens. As such the 99 percent bear the burden of inflation and
Source: Breena E. Coates, Professor of Management, California State University
San Bernardino.
Instructor’s Note: Ask the students to comment on the following: With so many
points of view, spin, and so much creative accounting on tax rates, whose argument
resonates with you? Do you think that the social equity of taxes is simply a politi-
cal debate in an election cycle? What do the tax protests around the nation convey
about social equity?
V. ADDITIONAL WEB RESOURCES
Affirmative Action and Diversity Project
aad.english.ucsb.edu
This site from the University of California at Santa Barbra presents diverse opinions regard-
Americans with Disabilities Act Document Center
http://jan.wvu.edu/links/adalinks.htm
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Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ)
www.usdoj.gov/crt/
This DOJ division’s Web site provides news and resources concerning the enforcement of
Commission on Civil Rights (CCR)
www.usccr.gov
The site offers publications on the CCR’s activities and information on a myriad of civil
right issues.
National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE)
www.pay-equity.org
NCPE is a coalition of women’s and civil rights organizations; labor unions; religious, pro-
US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
www.eeoc.gov
The EEOC is the primary unit of the federal government that enforces the nation’s employ-
Movement Advancement Project
www.lgbtmap.org
Description of MAP Founded in 2006, the Movement Advancement Project is an indepen-
dent think tank that provides rigorous research, insight and analysis that help speed equal-