Assessing the factors influencing peoples’ attitudes towards affirmative action policy in the workplace. the case of urban dwellers in Kampala and Mukono
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Date
2007-10
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Kampala International University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Abstract
The fact of social inequalities as a result of discrimination against certain groups is an
undeniable characteristic of almost every society. Modern legislation have sought to
redress imbalances caused by discriminatory structures by legally endorsing the
principles of equal treatment and equality of opportunities for all. In spite of the adoption
of the principle of equal treatment, there continues to be a big gap between de Jure
equality and defacto equality. This problem has led policy makers to resort to affirmative
action, which implies going beyond the principle of equal treatment and, through the
mechanism of preferential treatment, taking positive steps to increase the representation
of the disadvantaged groups in areas from which they have been traditionally excluded.
However, since their inception and endorsement, affirmative action has been highly
controversial both in the public and private forum. The ambivalence in the public
perception of affirmative~ e action has often resulted in a situation whereby such policies are publicly and legally challenged, thus frustrating efforts to reverse the deplorable situation put in place by longstanding discrimination against socially and economically
disadvantaged groups.
The lack of agreement about affirmative action provides the motive for the present study
which seeks to assess factors which influence peoples’ attitudes toward affirmative
action; meaning, factors which determine support for or opposition to this important issue
of public policy. Participants to this study were chosen from among urban dwellers in
Kampala and Mukono Municipality. Respondents’ attitudes were gathered using an open ended questionnaire and the collected data were analyzed using the Statistical Package
for Social Science (SPSS). Participants’ attitudes towards affirmative action were
assessed against the background of three major factors assumed to he the major
determinants of attitudes towards affirmative action, namely, the beliefs about the
specific actions to be involved in the affirmative action program. the beliefs about the
beneficiaries of such policies, and the beliefs about the effectiveness of affirmative action
for both the beneficiaries and the organization in which they work.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the school of postgraduate studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of the Master of Arts in Human Rights and Development of Kampala International University
Keywords
Affirmative action policy, Urban dwellers, Kampala and Mukono