Michigan State University Extension
Diversity and Pluralism - 02170196
12/95/
ERIC TITLE NUMBER: ED222781 AUTHOR: Gramling, Robert B.; Brabant, Sarah
TITLE: Increased Opportunity versus Affirmative Action: An
Empirical Examination of Sex Equity.
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1982
NOTE: 18 p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the
American Sociological Association (San Francisco, CA,
September 1982).
ABSTRACT: A study examined two models--increased opportunity
and affirmative action--as proposed solutions to sex
inequities in wage and occupational distribution. The
Increased Opportunity Model assumes that increased economic
opportunities will disproportionately benefit women and
minorities because of their relative position in the labor
force. The Affirmative Action Model contends that the
problem of inequity cannot be solved with increased
opportunities in the labor market because the inequities are
creations of that market. To compare the validity of the two
models, researchers collected data pertaining to the yearly
income, occupation, place of residence, and sex of 1,560
members of the labor force in East St. Mary Parish,
Louisiana. Next, they compared this employment data with
similar data for the State of Louisiana. Based on their
comparisons, the researchers concluded that increased
opportunity will not, in and of itself, reduce sex
inequities. Therefore, they called for further research to
delineate the impediments to increased female labor force
participation in order to pinpoint effectively appropriate
affirmative action strategies. (MN)
KEY DESCRIPTORS: Comparative-Analysis; Employment-Level;
Females-; Labor-Force; Surveys-
KEY DESCRIPTORS: *Affirmative-Action; *Employment
Opportunities; *Employment-Patterns; *Salary-Wage
Differentials; *Sex-Fairness
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