Managing diversity is not affirmative action. Managing diversity is not a program, but a process. Managing diversity is not a moral or social issue but an economic issue. Managing diversity can help all managers to become more productive. Affirmative action was and is the mechanism for women, minorities and immigrants to enter the workforce.
Affirmative action is designed to correct a mistake or an imbalance in the workforce.
Companies with more than 50 employees who have a contract with the federal government are required to have affirmative action plans. Thousands of individuals and women have benefited from affirmative action programs that evolved from executive order 11246 signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. Nonetheless affirmative action is asked to do things it never could. Although a company may hire a person of color , or a woman, it does not necessarily follow that the company will automatically allow that individual to progress through the ranks naturally. Ultimately, the company will benefit and the employee will have a renewed enthusiasm to perform.