Affirmative action necessary to reduce gender bias
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 20, 1995 9:00 p.m.
Affirmative action necessary to reduce gender bias
By Jennifer K. Morita
Daily Bruin Staff
In the recent debate over affirmative action and the proposed
California Civil Rights Initiative, women are often overlooked, a
panel of experts said Thursday in the James West Alumni Center.
Sponsored by the UCLA Women’s Resource Center, the dialogue on
affirmative action’s impact on women brought up issues of
discrimination and attempted to dispel popular myths surrounding
the controversial policy.
"There is a myth that women in particular have finally reached
equity with men," said one of Thursday’s panelists, California
Women’s Law Center Executive Director Abby Liebman. "That there is
no longer any need for affirmative action, especially in regard to
women. (But) there is still discrimination against women."
Women make up 26 percent of California’s lawyers, 14 percent of
whom are partners in the 50 largest law firms, Liebman said. Yet
the population of women in law schools is 50 percent.
According to the 1995 Glass Ceiling Commission report, 97
percent of all managers in the United States are white men.
"There are very significant barriers to women accessing the
profession," Liebman said. "There is no other explanation for those
numbers unless you believe that women are biologically stupider
than men."
UCLA Graduate Division Associate Dean Shirley Hune discussed the
number of women in faculty positions.
"There is a large pool of white women," Hune said, adding that
out of the 16,000 doctorates awarded last year, 10,360 were given
to white women. "But UCLA’s faculty is only 22 percent women."
Panelists also discussed the California Civil Rights Initiative,
proposed for the November 1996 ballot. The key sentence in the
initiative eliminates preferential treatment based on sex, race,
ethnicity, national origin and color.
The implications of the initiative, Liebman said, do not just
affect affirmative action policies but separated public school
activities such as physical education and sports.
"The unintended consequences of (the initiative) are enormous,"
Liebman said.
Thursday’s forum drew an audience of about 25 people, almost all
of whom were women.
"Affirmative action affects me in two ways," said first-year
Chicano/Chicana Studies major Tana Gamboa. "It affects me as both a
Mexicana and as a woman."
Still another student sees affirmative action as necessary.
"Given the reality of society today, affirmative action is
necessary to incorporate diversity, which I think is key to the
success of UCLA," Mahtob Darvish said.
