After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, or religion, many employers changed their employment practices to improve job opportunities for minorities and women. Policies were revised; affirmative action plans devised, training and educational programs developed, and testing programs designed in accordance with Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) guidelines. Although women and minorities still do not have equal opportunities with majority men in all categories, nor do they always receive comparable earnings for similar responsibilities, nevertheless management has been forced to bring them into higher-level jobs. The role of affirmative action can best be illustrated by statistics of employed black persons and white women age 25 to 34 between
1968 and 1977 - During this period, the percentage of white women holding managerial jobs more than doubled from 3.5 to 7.4 percent compared to the increase for white males from 12.3 to 18.6 percent. The percentage of black males in managerial positions increased by 145 percent, or to 8.1 percent; for black females in managerial positions, employment rose by 169 percent, or to 3.5 percent, of black women in this age group.
Another indication that some changes are beginning to occur in the office is that workers at the supervisory level are split evenly by sex.
Many programs in private industry and in government have helped overcome barriers to employment for great numbers of minorities and disadvantaged workers. There also is pressure on business to hire disadvantaged youth. Through training and retraining programs, the federal government has made it possible for those who are unemployed or on the fringes of the labor force to become permanent, full-time workers. It has helped train those employed in low-income jobs to become more productive and successful, and it has discovered and will continue to ascertain the potential of those now considered unemployable.
Programs authorized by the Manpower Development and Training Act (MDTA) of 1962, the Economic Opportunity Act in 1964, and subsequent legislation-Job Opportunities in the Business Sector (JOBS), Neighborhood Youth Corps, Public Service Careers (PSC), Work Incentive Program (WIN), MDTA, Institutional Training, Operation Mainstream, Jobs for Progress (SER), and Urban League on-the-job training-have been successful in promoting productive employment of jobless and underemployed youths and adults. The acts have provided opportunities and money for training. It is interesting that 41 percent of the trainees of the Manpower Development and Training Act are being prepared for clerical and sales jobs, showing that there is a vital need in this area.
The Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 (CETA), amended in 1978, provides for a decentralized system of federal, state, and local manpower activities that include basic education, skills training in the classroom or on the job, supportive services such as child care and transportation, testing, and counseling. Under this act, most federal and manpower training funds are distributed to the state and local governments directly based on need.
Programs that contributed significantly in the 1970s to the development of the Administration's thrust for youth education, training, and employment were: Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act of 1977 (YEDPA), which provides for Job Corps residential training and summer programs; Title III programs that provide private sector on-the-job (OJT) opportunities for women, the severely disadvantaged, and handicapped, sponsored by the National Association for Retarded Citizens, Goodwill Industries of America, and the Epilepsy Foundation; Private Sector Initiative Program (PSIP) which seeks to involve private industry more closely with CETA employment activities; Employment Opportunities Pilot Project (EOPP) which provides more information about welfare reform strategies; and Skills Training Improvement Program (STIP) which serves to upgrade worker skills. In 1979, jobs and training were provided for over 4 million persons. More recent programs aimed at increasing employment opportunities for veterans were:
- Job Service also called employment service (ES). Most of these jobs were filled in manufacturing-related and non house-hold service occupations. In 1979, veterans comprised about 14 percent of the 4.5 million persons placed that year, of which 45,000 were disabled veterans.
- Help Through Industry Retraining and Employment (HIRE I and II). HIRE I, a two-year program was initially launched in 1977 and targeted to large employers in the private sector. These companies either participated voluntarily or were entitled to be reimbursed from CETA funds for training costs. HIRE II was on the local level and made available to smaller employers. Through September 1979, over 37,000 veterans had been served.
