PD Pee
ARE avES ine
AFFIRMALSVE ACTIO®:; WHAT IS IT?
(The follows.ig artic.. is intended to shed some lig: :: the nature and advantages
of -...irmative Action legislation. A resolution caliincs for Affirmative Act..cr

Pl ns sill be presented to the 1973 Convention and d_3cussed in the Women's
Ri. 1ts wor'.shops. Affirmative Action is also one or t.e t. cee issues that .

“omer.'s Committee recommends as priorities for organiztre at tue conve..tion.)

The intent of such legislation, which has been in effect in the U.S. for
over two years, is to provide relief for members of a class "who, cy virtue of
past discrimination, continue to suffer the present effects of that disci ::. a-
tion". (Federal Register, vol. 36, No. 234). The legislation would require any
recipient of public funds to submit a plan outlining concrete steps to be taken
within a given time period to bring an end to practices in hiring, wage scales,
promotion, admission, and so forth, which discriminate against women.

The legislation would have to include review procedures placing the onus
on the recipient of public funds to demonstrate that corrective remedies were
being introduced. Penalties for non-compliance, and the right of an individual to
file suit against an institution or employer for non-compliance, would also be

necessary.

Not all cases of discrimination would be remedied by Affirmative Action
legislation. But the Government could set an example in areas where it has
financial control - for example, in universities, hospitals, and public works
projects. Recent legislation requiring all firms bidding for Provincial Government

contracts to be union shops provides an interesting precedent,

S h e fa [, fr hy ely fs cy