Frequently Asked Questions

Affirmative Action

What is Affirmative Action?

Affirmative action constitutes a good faith effort by employers to address past and/or present discrimination through a variety of specific, results-oriented procedures. This good faith effort may involve measures taken beyond equal opportunity laws that simply ban discriminatory practices.

Affirmative action is usually associated with employment practices, but it also applies to college admissions and the awarding of government contracts.
Federal, state and local governments, federal contractors, and subcontractors with contracts of $50,000 or more are required to implement affirmative action programs in employment. Colleges and universities are also included in this category.
In rare cases, a private employer may be ordered to remedy a specific practice or pattern of discrimination by implementing "remedial" affirmative action measures.

What are some types of affirmative action measures?

Aggressive recruiting to expand the pool of candidates for job openings.
Evaluating and updating selection tools and criteria to ensure their relevance to job performance.
Revising traditional measures of merit to more fully recognize talent and performance under varying conditions.

Executive Order 11246. For historical purposes, this is the original text of the law, without any subsequent amendments.

Myths and Facts about Affirmative Action

Myth: Affirmative Action is a set of laws that disadvantage whites and diminish their chances to obtain resources and opportunities

Fact: Affirmative Action is a term that has been applied to many public and private initiatives designed to address problems of discrimination or exclusion in employment, education, and contracting. The policies were instituted to transform the landscape of American social justice from an unequal playing field to an equal one. However, they are misguidedly perceived as a tool used to subjugate whites.

In truth, the policies merely constitute a "good faith effort" by employers to eliminate discrimination. These good faith efforts ensure that specific, results-orientated procedures are employed to balance competing interests and make certain efforts are put forth to provide equal access in educational and work arenas for all people. Affirmative action policies can be appropriately labeled as strategies in which the pool of candidates for positions, seats and contracts are sought through expansion of recruitment networks, review of qualifications to determine that they are necessary to perform the job, and so on.

Myth: Affirmative Action is reverse discrimination

Fact: In an analysis, the U.S. Department of Labor found that affirmative action programs do not lead to widespread reverse discrimination claims. It also found that a high proportion of claims that are filed are found to lack merit. These findings firmly refute the charge that affirmative action has helped minorities at the expense of whites. The analysis found that fewer than 200 out of 3,000 discrimination cases filed involved reverse discrimination, and in only six cases were such claims substantiated.

Myth: Affirmative Action equals quotas

Fact: This statement is dismissible as quotas are illegal. However, it cannot be ignored as the notion that affirmative action policies dictate the quantification of proportions is prevalent. The "quota" debate revolves around the idea that inflexible numbers of employment and college/university seats are set aside exclusively for minorities and women. There is also the misconception that unqualified minorities and women are securing these jobs and seats. The policies specifically state the conditions under which quotas can be used. There must be a finding of discrimination against an organization or institution by a court of law or an enforcement agency. In addition, only a qualified individual from the group discriminated against is allowed to fill the position. At that time, the situation is said to be remedied.

Myth: Affirmative Action is preferential treatment

Fact: Preferences for those in need is the American way; a basic concept. Affirmative action programs for minorities and women are a very small part of U.S. preferential policies. College draft deferments, selective allotments for refugees, support for corporate farms, re-entry programs for GI's, the Marshall Plan (billions of dollars for free training of former European enemies denied to Black GI's in the U.S.), legacy systems, and geographical preferences are but a few of the programs engineered in the name of inclusion and deemed worthy of preferential treatment.

It is important to remember what policies (politics) of the past have precipitated present policies. Problems persist and affirmative action is not their source.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is not a new problem. However, it is a relatively new term and concept under the law. There was no name for behavior now described as sexual harassment until the early 1970's. A small group of women at Cornell University coined the term while they tried to describe the circumstances under which an administrative assistant quit her job with an eminent physicist. She gave up her position because she could no longer deal with his constant advances.

What is Sexual Harassment?

Attaching a hard and fast rule to what particular acts constitute sexual harassment or defining it is difficult as situations can be complex to say the least. For example, differing cultural and/or social assumptions and expectations cause confusion. Men and women have differing perspectives. What a woman sees as sexual harassment, a man may not. In addition, people tend to view sexual harassment in the extreme ("Sleep with me or I will fail you"). In fact, sexual harassment is usually much more subtle. Statements such as: "You really fill out that sweater," or long hugs, back rubs, staring, touching, snide sexual remarks, jokes, etc. are more the norm.

The best way to define Sexual Harassment is to say that it is "unwanted sexual or gender-based behavior that occurs when one person has formal or informal power over another."

There are three major elements in this definition:

Unwanted or unwelcome behavior.
The behavior is sexual or related to the sex or gender of the harassed person.
The behavior occurs in the context of a relationship where one person has more formal power than the other (faculty member over a student, supervisor over an employee) or more informal power over the other (one peer over another).

In addition to the above, in its 1984 guidelines, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) outlined a definition the courts rely on:

"Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when:

submission to such conduct is made with explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of a person's employment or academic advancement; or
submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for decisions affecting an individual's employment or academic advancement; or
such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with person's work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile offensive work, learning or social environment."

The first two are labeled "Quid Pro Quo" (this for that) and the third one is labeled as "Hostile Environment."

Something else to consider is that the courts and the EEOC have established several standards to identify sexual harassment. They look at whether behavior is "sufficiently severe or pervasive" to establish a "hostile environment." But, remember that once may be enough if the behavior is so offensive (forced fondling, attempted rape) that it would incur charges. Another standard considered is whether a "reasonable woman" or "person" would be offended by the behavior. The courts continue to debate whether the standard should be a "reasonable women" or a "reasonable person," however, it is agreed that the perspective of women and men must be considered. The courts keep in mind the fact that a woman often views certain sexual behavior as intimidating, hostile, offensive, demeaning, or inappropriate and a man may view the same behavior as flattering, friendly, or funny. We, as individuals, should remember this as well.

A good rule of thumb is: if you would not do it or say it in front of your wife, children, mother or boss - do not do it or say it! When in doubt…Don't.

Sexual Harassment is not about Sex

Sexual harassment is about power not sex. Harassment occurs when there is a power imbalance. For example, the power differential between a faculty/staff member and a student or subordinate staff is considerable. The assessments faculty/staff make regarding their students/other staff can and do affect lives. Moreover, students of all ages are vulnerable to faculty/staff influences. It is not uncommon for students or subordinate staff to fear retaliation and therefore feel pressed to endure sexual innuendos or be seduced into sexual activity.

Handling Sexual Harassment

Take the complaint seriously. Assure the person that the complaint or problem is being taken seriously and that their complaint will be attended to promptly.

Listen, sympathize, don't judge or take sides. Listen and make no commitment regarding what the result of the investigation should or will be regarding the allegations. Assure the person that Portland Community College takes sexual harassment very seriously and will not tolerate it.

Give the complainant the number of the Affirmative Action / Equity Office (971-722-5840 - Assistant / 971-722-5841 - Director) or offer to contact the office for them.

Respond to concerns. If the complainant is afraid, assure the person that the institution does everything to ensure confidentiality (make no promises, I am obligated by law to investigate some things). If you are asked questions you have no answers for, tell the complainant that the appropriate person will answer all their questions.

Document your conversation. Summarize what the complainant has told you and include any observations of the person's demeanor (frightened, shaking, crying, etc.). Send your summary in an envelope marked "Confidential" and send it to the Affirmative Action / Equity Office (Downtown Center 301). Feel free to call the Director of Affirmative Action / Equity at 971-722-5841.

Words to avoid when talking to a complainant

It's no big deal.
Ignore it.
He/She says that to everyone
Lighten up. It's a joke.
You need to learn how to handle these things.
Don't dress like that.
That's how they do things where he/she comes from.
No one else has complained.

Individuals making statements such as the ones above may subject themselves and the Institution to liability. Also, the above words may discourage people from filing a complaint as they tend to convey the message that their complaint will not be taken seriously.

Myths and Facts

Myth: People who are harassed probably did something to invite it.: Fact: People who are harassed usually do nothing to invite harassment. The victim of harassment is seldom to blame. In addition, it should not be a valid reason for someone to feel free to harass another human being. People are usually harassed because of appearance, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and cultural heritage, religion, gender, age or other characteristics that trigger someone's need to feel superior or more powerful than another.
Myth: The motivation behind sexual harassment is a desire for sex.: Fact: Power and control usually motivate the behavior behind sexual harassment.
Myth: People who are different in regards to religion, clothing, cultural identity, hairstyles, etc. should accept the fact that they may be teased by their fellow coworkers and not consider such teasing or having fun as harassment.: Fact: It is not acceptable. Harassment is in the eye of the beholder. Whether the teasing is "all in fun" or not is irrelevant. Such behavior can be embarrassing, or feel like a put-down. The behavior most often is construed to be harassing. If the perpetrator is asked to stop the behavior in words or actions (no hitting) and the behavior continues, it is definitely harassment.
Myth: Harassment should be worked out between the person accused of the behavior and the person feeling the effects of the behavior.: Fact: Power issues keep most people from confronting a harasser. This is especially true when the harasser is in an authoritative position or has evaluative responsibilities over the person complaining. Moreover, management has a responsibility to stop harassing behavior and take appropriate corrective or disciplinary action.
Myth: If I make a mistake and call someone a name and it only happens once, surely this cannot be called harassment.: Fact: Yes it can. The name-calling will be evaluated to ascertain the totality of the circumstances, the context, and the severity of the incident.