Developing an Analytical Framework to Evaluate the Implementation of Affirmative Action: A Case of the State of Florida

Abstract

In this study, we explore the ways to capture the extent to which a given locale embodies the values of affirmative action, i.e. equal employment. In particular this study employs the concept of employment availability to figure out whether firms in a certain locale tend to comply with the affirmative-action guidelines. Given this concept, we define disparity as the proportion of female employees in the total locale population employed, deviated from the availability level. Along with this, we consider a measure of concentration, which refers to the extent to which the employment in a locale is occupied by a certain gender. By combining these two indices, we develop an analytical framework to evaluate the implementation of affirmative action. As an illustration of the analytical framework, we employ the database from the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Specifically, by using the data of the state of Florida, the availability is measured based on demographic statistics; the indices of dispatiy and concentration are calculated; then how the locales of Florida show their implementation of affirmative action is analyzed with these two combined indices. Based on the analyses and from the implications from them, we contend that the analytical framework for measuring the affirmative-action implementation can be used to evaluate how equal employment is achieved; particually, we suggest that this analytical framework is applicable to the Korean context.