Another Look at Affirmative Action: Voices of U.S. Beneficiaries

Affirmative Action was designed to expand the equality notion from ‘equality of opportunities’ to ‘equality of outcomes.’ Regarding the equality vs. difference debate on women, it is based on the equality side. While Affirmative Action is appraised to enable more women to get into non-traditional occupations, it is also criticized of ignoring women’s traits and making them imitate men. This paper, through voices of women in non-traditional occupations in the U.S., one group of beneficiaries of Affirmative Action, concludes as follows: The existence of women in nontraditional jobs in itself doesn’t guarantee the equal status for these women. However, it does not lead to these women accepting and following male norms, either. For survival, these women use different strategies, some challenging the given distinction between masculinity and femininity. In the process, they deconstruct the masculine and feminine identities and reconstruct them. The voices of Affirmative Action beneficiaries in the U.S. shed light on a potential of Affirmative Action for building “equal and different” workplaces in Korea.