Affirmative Action Essays (2838 words) - Discrimination,

Affirmative Action Considering the subject of affirmative action the following questions frequently are raised: Is there a clear understanding of affirmative action roles/goals? What are the pros/cons of these programs? What are the "loop holes" in the system? Does seniority play a role in affirmative action? Addressing these key questions may help us all in our daily routine, as administrators and/or potential administrator in the public/private sector. Affirmative action programs throughout the United States have long been a controversial issue particularly concerning employment practices (public/private) and university student and/or staff recruitment. Most public agencies have some type of instituted affirmative action program. According to Cheryl Perry-League, Director of Equal Opportunity of the Port of Oakland, every business operating on Port of Oakland owned land must have a standing affirmative action program on record and businesses bidding to do work for the Port of Oakland must have an acceptably diverse workforce. BACKGROUND To understand the role and/or goals of affirmative actions programs we should define what the broad definition of what affirmative action is and what caused its development. The phase "affirmative action" was used in a racial discrimination context. Executive Order No. 10,925 issued by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. The order indicated that federal contractors should take affirmative action to ensure job applicants and employees are treated "without regard to their race, creed, or national origin." A person could define this statement as an order to imply equal access and nothing else. Subsequently, Executive Order 11246 issued by President Johnson in September 1965, "mandated affirmative action goals for all federally funded programs and moved monitoring and enforcement of affirmative action programs out of the White House and into the Labor Department." Affirmative action "refers to various efforts to deliberately take race, sex, and national origins into account to remedy past and current effects of discrimination. Its primary goal is to ensure that women and minorities are widely represented in all occupations and at all organizational levels" (Tompkins, 1995, p.161). Another definition of affirmative action according to Barbara Bergmann is "planning and acting to end the absence of certain kinds of people-those who belong to groups that have been subordinated or left out-from certain jobs and schools" (1997 p.7). Tracing the history of affirmative action, laws against racial discrimination have proved inadequate for workplace integration because they often provide remedies only after the fact. Affirmative action requires proactive steps to provide equal opportunities in employment as well as access to education. Many affirmative action programs were born from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII references to affirmative action programs were brought about "because of the history of discrimination in the United States, certain groups are viewed as disadvantage in the current marketplace. Thus affirmative action laws impose temporary requirements to correct underutilization of these groups (e.g., goals and timetables for increasing the number of minorities and women in a facility)" (Gutman, 1993, p.9). Prior to these laws and the Title VII law, the U.S workforce was primarily dominated by white males. Although, still somewhat white male dominated, quotas that were designed through affirmative action programs have helped achieve some representation of women and minorities in the current work force. Some remedies brought about through affirmative action programs include goal setting, quotas, and timetables. GOALS AND QUOTAS The term goal "refers to specific outcomes which, when achieved, will result in equal employment opportunity and equitable representation" (Hall & Albrecht, 1979, p.47-78). Goals and hiring quotas vary somewhat in their function. Goals generally are long range plans that organizations use and there are no expected minimum or maximum limitations. Quotas by comparison, "establishes a definite number of people who must be hired. A Company cannot by law, use quotas unless it has been ordered to do so by a court to remedy a past action" (Hall & Albrecht, 1979, p.47-78). Deficiency correction is the primary target of goal setting through affirmative action. For an organization to be effective with goals, they must be realistic, attainable, and monitored by the human resource department. Affirmative action programs generally achieve their set goals through several common practices called outreach programs. First, there are special recruiting programs where women and minorities will most likely be found. These special outreach programs often target black universities and female dominated educational facilities. A second outreach program involves special advertising. Generally, this is also implemented in areas that are heavily populated by women and minorities similar to that of recruiting programs. Through outreach programs like the ones mentioned above, goals can be attained to achieve equity and representation without forgoing higher educated and skilled

Free Essays on Latter-day Saints And Racism

The 1830 publication of the â€Å"Book of Mormon† by Joseph Smith, officially established the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ believe that Smith, under divine guidance, translated a set of golden plates into the Book of Mormon. This was the first of several literary works that were said to contain proper doctrine of the beliefs and views of the Mormon religion. Throughout the development of the Church, several aspects of the Mormon religion have caused many of its members to be persecuted by outside parties. During the last half of the nineteenth-century the government formed strict laws to thwart the strong beliefs of polygamy until church leaders denounced the practice. In the twentieth century the Church came under fire because of its controversial ideas considering African Americans. Ideas of Caucasian supremacy can be found throughout doctrines and scripture that exist in important Church documents. Until recently the Latter-day Saint Church had denied the priesthood, as well as several other religious practices to anyone that was of African decent. Heavy criticism from both non-Mormon and Mormon parties mounted until 1978, when then Church president Spencer Kimball announced the repeal. Several theories have been recently developed to explain the origins and reasoning of racial inferiority and the manner in which the Latter-day Saint Church treated African Americans during the last one- hundred and seventy-one years. A large portion of the Book of Mormon describes the history of several pre-Christian civilizations that existed throughout America. A group of Israelites lead by a righteous man named Nephi established a society of god loving people. Nephi’s two brothers Laman and Lemuel rose up against their brother and formed a band of dissidents that rejected Nephi’s religious ideas. The righteous people came to be called the Nephites, while the nomadic dissident... Free Essays on Latter-day Saints And Racism Free Essays on Latter-day Saints And Racism The 1830 publication of the â€Å"Book of Mormon† by Joseph Smith, officially established the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ believe that Smith, under divine guidance, translated a set of golden plates into the Book of Mormon. This was the first of several literary works that were said to contain proper doctrine of the beliefs and views of the Mormon religion. Throughout the development of the Church, several aspects of the Mormon religion have caused many of its members to be persecuted by outside parties. During the last half of the nineteenth-century the government formed strict laws to thwart the strong beliefs of polygamy until church leaders denounced the practice. In the twentieth century the Church came under fire because of its controversial ideas considering African Americans. Ideas of Caucasian supremacy can be found throughout doctrines and scripture that exist in important Church documents. Until recently the Latter-day Saint Church had denied the priesthood, as well as several other religious practices to anyone that was of African decent. Heavy criticism from both non-Mormon and Mormon parties mounted until 1978, when then Church president Spencer Kimball announced the repeal. Several theories have been recently developed to explain the origins and reasoning of racial inferiority and the manner in which the Latter-day Saint Church treated African Americans during the last one- hundred and seventy-one years. A large portion of the Book of Mormon describes the history of several pre-Christian civilizations that existed throughout America. A group of Israelites lead by a righteous man named Nephi established a society of god loving people. Nephi’s two brothers Laman and Lemuel rose up against their brother and formed a band of dissidents that rejected Nephi’s religious ideas. The righteous people came to be called the Nephites, while the nomadic dissident...

War of the third Coalition Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

War of the third Coalition - Research Paper Example The five articles were located using the Google search engine using key words such as â€Å"Third Coalition† and â€Å"Napoleon I.† Peer reviewed scholarly articles were excluded from the search results, along with encyclopaedia entries which were in any case usually rather superficial. The selected internet sources are briefly described in turn with an emphasis on deciding how accurate and useful they are for academic purposes. Text 1 â€Å"Napoleonic Wars† (FAMT, undated). This source is an aticle on the whole series of Napoleonic Wars which has a brief paragraph on each of the coalitions. There is no author mentioned, and no firm date, although the site does suggest that all articles have been written between 2008 and 2010. The most striking feature of the article is its breezy style, and use of imaginative and emotive language, for example â€Å"Napoleon taught the Austrians another lesson at the Battle of Ulm in 1805, but it didn’t last very longâ₠¬  (FAMT, undated, p.1) This kind of comment is not very specific, since the phrase â€Å"taught the Austrians another lesson† gives no quantitative details of troop numbers, or indication of tactics, or indeed any details at all about the apparently decisive Battle of Ulm. There are serious doubts about the objectivity of this article, and this can be seen both in the content and in the nature of the website which hosts it. The anonymous author’s conclusion is flagged as being controversial, and indeed the claim that â€Å"Anglosphere money power financed Napoleon’s remarkable career† (FAMT, undated, p.1) gives a hint that there is a hidden agenda. The author acknowledges that â€Å"this is not a popular view of Napoleon† (FAMT, undated, p.1) and hints that more research might produce evidence to support it! The website hosting the article is set up to resemble an information/news/reference site, modelled on a newspaper, as its title â€Å"The D aily Bell† suggests. Its express purpose appears to be â€Å"to promote and support the widespread advancement of laissez-faire economic principles† and this betrays a strong political and ideological bias. This site is not suitable as a secondary source for information on the Third Coalition and Napoleon but it is perhaps interesting as a primary source on the way contemporary political organisations are attempting to use the internet to re-write, or re-interpret history in order to support particular beliefs. Text 2 â€Å"The French Revolutionary & Napoleonic Wars† (Hickman, undated) This source is a formal narrative giving bare facts about the events in Napoleon’s career, including the War of the Third Coalition. It gives a few key dates, and provides hyperlinks for key persons and places such as â€Å"Lord Horatio Nelson† and â€Å"Trafalgar†, along with some images of classical works of art which illustrate scenes mentioned. As a histori cal source it is accurate, but much too superficial to be of any use to serious researchers. There are no sources given, and although there are further topic headings pointing the reader to other â€Å"Ask,com† pages, it is clear that this text is nothing more than a few bare facts with no analysis or theoretical debate. It is impossible also to check whether the author has selected the most important items to list, and indeed it could be argued that the extreme summary falsifies the complexity of the events described. One positive feature of the text is that the author’

How Art Deco came to be Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How Art Deco came to be - Term Paper Example It mainly affected decorative arts, such as furniture, architecture, graphic arts, pottery or jewelry, but its influence extended to other artistic fields like films or fashion. â€Å"This movement was, in a sense, a broad umbrella covering many different artistic styles and movements in the early 20th century such as Neoclassical, Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism, Bauhaus, Art Nouveau, and Futurism†. As Carol Fisher says, its origins are rooted in a reaction to the flowing motifs and fussiness of Art Nouveau with its emphasis on individual craftsmen made pieces. Its strongest points were its elegance and functionality. It was mainly based in geometric forms, zigzags and curves, and it is said that it was influenced also by tribal arts from Central America or Africa. Of course, the epoch’s advances in machinery and technology also influenced Art Deco, especially in the use of new materials such as crystal, steel, aluminum, lacquer or inlaid wood. These materials were u sed to produce pieces of art with staggered motifs, streamlined forms, stylized lines, gentle clean curves and rosette patterns. Exotic motifs and patterns inspired in nature, like plants or flowers, were also typical in Art Deco’s works of art. The declination of Art Deco came when it started to be seen as extremely loud, excessive and opulent art. Art Deco was finally ended, until the 80s, when there was an interest for it coming from graphic designers. Some colonial countries like Philippines continued using Art Deco until 1960. (Pheebay.com, "So What is Art Deco Design", October 2008. http://www.pheebay.com). Streamline Moderne was the artistic movement which followed Art Deco as a consequence of the Great Depression of 1929, based in the principles of aerodynamics and the simplicity of lines, ideas that were more in agreement with the sobriety of that period. Some splendid examples of Art Deco buildings could be the spire of the Chrysler Building or the Rockefeller Center in New York, the Bacardi Building in La Havana, the Goinia Theatre in Brazil, the BBC Broadcasting House in London, Palais de Tokyo in Paris or the Sta. Cecilia's Hall in Manila. Also, magnificent examples can be found in

Juvenile Recidivism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Juvenile Recidivism - Essay Example The designing of effective assessment strategies leading to interventions with the young offenders are no doubt, predominantly dependant on the identification of causal factors that constitute the basis of a realistic prediction (Savitz et al., 1962). Adolescence is a phase of life when the young people are more prone to engaging in antisocial behavior. Practice of antisocial behavior during adolescence is the single most important factor in the prediction of criminal behavior in the adulthood. A plethora of research carried on till now has suggested that almost a half or more of juvenile offenders continue with the criminal behavior beyond their teens. Juvenile recidivism is a serious problem in the United States. On an annual basis, roughly 2.4 million juveniles are charged with criminal offences every year (Wilson, 2011: Online). As per some conservative estimates, roughly 55 percent or more of juvenile offenders who are released get rearrested within a year (Wilson, 2011: Online). In case of urban areas, the rate of juvenile recidivism is estimated to be as high as 76 percent (Wilson, 2011: Online). At a national level, it is utterly difficult to acquire the accurate recidivism rates. This is because in the US, the recidivism rates in case of juvenile offenders are assessed at a state or county level (Wilson, 2011: Online). Hence, the statistics specific to the particular states is in a way a realistic indicator of the levels of juvenile recidivism. In the year 2005, the rate of juvenile recidivism in the State of Washington, in case of boys stood at 77 percent and in the case of girls it stood at 72 percent (Wilson, 2011: Onli ne). In the State of California, the percentage of juvenile delinquents who got rearrested within a year was 74 (Wilson, 2011: Online). In Manhattan, the rate of juvenile recidivism rested at roughly 80 percent (Wilson, 2011: Online). Many

Gender inequalities in employment

Gender inequalities in employment Introduction In this essay I shall discuss the progress of the European Unions attempt to dismantle gender inequality in employment. In addition to this, I shall examine current EU legislation, policy issues, social and economic challenges faced by both men and women. Finally, I shall then comment on EU solutions and further developments that can help alleviate the gap in inequalities in employment. The European Union is also referred to as the European Economic Community (EEC) it is a union consisting of 27 member states; the EU was created by theTreaty of Maastrichton 1st November 1993 upon the foundations of theEuropean Economic Community (cited in Wikipedia) this union is merged together to improve the economical, political and social cohesion amongst people who reside in these countries. After the 2nd World War, many women were required to fulfil the spaces of men, who had lost their lives in battle or were unable to work and thus there was a gap in the labour force. Women were therefore recruited and thus introduced in to employment to strengthen and maintain the fragile economy at the time. However, on contrary to popular belief women continued to work even after the economic situation improved, the Suffragettes movement was extremely notable in women fighting for recognition. From the beginning women were treated unfairly in regards to poor pay, however some were happy to have some economic independence from men and thus accepted demeaning jobs. (Cited in Euro culture master) Cockburn (1991) comments that the relationship between capitalism and labour is shared between bosses and men, and thus neglects the gender relationships of work and home. Much of the theory regarding women and employment is largely based on patriarchal theories. Duncombe and Marsden (1995) argue that women are subjected to triple shifts this involves paid labour, domestic labour and emotional labour. The emotional labour refers to the care and attentiveness of the family unit, i.e. the social role of the woman being a wife and a mother towards the children and husband. Due to such challenges the notion of protective legislation was introduced. (Cited in Sociology: An interactive approach p189) Much treaties and directive were introduced in to some EU countries in attempt to dismantle gender inequality. The EEC established the principle of fair pay for men and women in Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome in 1957. However this was extremely complicated to practice in all members of states. This was simply due to the notion of equal pay for equal work but it was very rare that both sexes performed the same type of work. It was also noted that typically male jobs were much better paid then female jobs. Hence, it was apparent that the socially existing norm of male power was more important than female qualities. In 1975 the EU introduced directives to further empower women in the field of employment; the council directive of 75/117/EEC further supported the treaty of Rome on equal pay. Since 1975 there have been many key directives in aiding womens role in employment, some of the directives have focused on equal treatment of women in regards of promotion, social security, during pregnancy, and sex discrimination. (Cited in Women Lobby) During the 1990s the EU began to realize the significance of gender equality and how it impacted the employment sector. In 1997 the EU introduced the European Employment Strategy (EES) which recognized equal opportunities amongst men and women. The treaty of Amsterdam was also introduced in 1997 this treaty was combination of past directives and further introduced positive action to combat equal pay and discrimination amongst men and women in employment. (Cited in Union History).However, there were criticisms of these policies which only ensured that more women were in work and did not focus on the quality of the jobs they were in. This view is further supported in the following quotation: In practice, more attention has been paid to raising the female employment rate than to generating the better jobs for women that are essential for narrowing the gender pay gap (in Union History) Sadly the EU has failed to fully implement gender equality in employment, since it still persists despite the introduction of the above directives and treaties. The EU has therefore proposed six key objectives within the Road map for gender equality (2006-2010). These include equal economic independence for men and women, reconciliation of private and professional life, equal representation in decision making; the eradication of all forms of gender based violence, the elimination of gender based stereotypes, and finally the promotion of gender equality in external and development policies. (cited in Commission of the European Communities Report 2006) The inequality of gender gaps is the first key objective of fulfilling EU goals in employment and social cohesion. The demand for increased participation of women in the labour market provides a marked contribution to economic development and in turn economic independence for women. According to the above article, women still face more risk of poverty due to being over represented in the secondary labour market. According to Barren and Norris (1976) women are employed in unstable employment that is based on short term contracts, lower pay and entail unskilled work with fewer prospects , they are therefore more likely to be made redundant and thus suffer from a decline in the labour market. (in Jorgensen et al,1997 pg p192).In Addition Bruegal (1976) comments from a Marxist feminist perspective, states that such workers are used to keep costs at minimum by replacing more highly skilled and demanding workers i.e. men. (Cited Jorgensen et al,1997 pg p129) Women are therefore literally restricted in their opportunities to work further due to their domestic and emotional responsibility. In addition, women entrepreneurs are faced with more difficulties then male counterparts in building up their own business, in attempt to dismantle the structural inequalities and discrimination the EU has recommended the Entrepreneurship Action Plan to help support women in developing such projects. Women who also belong to ethnic minority groups suffer from twice as much discrimination and challenges, in order to fight such multiple discrimination the EU has proposed the Framework for the Integration of Third Country Nationals. This framework provides the promotion of migration and integration policies in order to guarantee womens rights and civil participation. In doing so, women from all backgrounds, can use their full economic potential and have the equal opportunity to education and prosperity. (Cited in Commission of the European Communities Repor t 2006) The second key objective of the EU is of the reconciliation of private and professional life for both men and women. According to the (Commission of the European Communities Report 2007) women face more challenges than men when it comes to handling work and private life, consequently this affects their career choices. Statistics suggest that more women than men work on part time basis and thus take more career breaks than men, which clearly has a harmful impact on their careers. Also, women are more subjected than men, to take on domestic and emotional labour in addition to taking parental leave and looking after children and other dependent family members. The 2007 EU Commission report concludes that due to the lack of accessible and affordable childcare, women face more inequality in employment. The overall result of this is that women are placed in unstable jobs with lower pay, which makes them more vulnerable to the larger risk of poverty. The matter is made worse for single pare nt families who have dependents. On the other hand, according to the Lisbon treaty, womens employment in the EU is close to meeting its goal of 60% by 2010.(cited in Commission of the European Communities Report 2009,pg5) However, it is clear that a lot more needs to be done to accomplish satisfactory levels of childcare provisions (according to the Barcelona objectives) in order for both parents to combine work and private life. The European Union has also reflected further funding targeted at improving equal opportunities, for instance the European Social Fund(ESF) which caters for women projects in regards to vocational training in alliance with the NOW community Initiative.(cited in europrofem)The EU has also established initiatives in 2008 to support better work life balance by making amendments to directive 92/85/EEC on maternity protection. The changes introduce changing the minimum maternity leave from 14 to 18weeks without the loss of earning.(cited in Commission of the European Communities Report 2009,pg 6 ) Furthermore, this idea has also been developed in regards to family related leave in regards to family policies and work life reconciliation issues for men. For instance, legislation on improved leave arrangements for fathers is already incorporated in countries such as Sweden, Germany, Greece, Lithuania and Spain. The third EU key objective in the roadmap proposes the need for the equal representation of women in decision making posts. The unequal division of domestic labour and caring responsibilities has clearly been a barrier in the advancement of women in employment, there has therefore been a need to amend and create policies to encourage womens participation in the labour market. The Commission of the European Communities Report 2007 noted that women predominated jobs were undervalued in comparison to male counterparts. Findings suggested that such jobs had lower rates of pay. For instance almost 40% of women were employed in the health, education and public administration sector in comparison to only 20% of men.(pg 3). In defence of this argument, men also face discrimination in accessing non traditional employment. For instance the notion of a male carer or nurse is seen with disgusts or caution due to gender stereotypes formed by society according to Acker (1989) (cited in Theory and Practice of nursing: an integrated approach to caring practices By Lynn Basford, Oliver Slevin). This suggested a segregation of the labour market which was being reinforced by traditional and social stereotypes which further influenced people in to gender roles. The EU has since implemented a: ..network to promote women in economic and political decision-making positions which was launched in 2008 to provide a platform for exchange of good practices between existing networks at EU level (Commission of the European Communities Report 2009,pg 6) In attempt to dismantle the inequality of gender in employment the fourth EU key objective is in regards to the eradication of gender based violence. The EU has established the Daphne programme which supports women and children who have suffered as a result of domestic abuse.(cited in europrofem) The commission has also encouraged the criminalisation of trafficking women and children through exploitation. The EU proposes under new directives to reintegrate such vulnerable groups in to the labour market. It also proposes the support of member states to encourage awareness raising campaigns, support networks both for the perpetrators of violence and the victims of abuse. The fifth EU key objective as described in the roadmap is the notion of gender based stereotypes. At present there is still a major problem in regards to inequality in employment. The EUC has identified a gender pay gap has one of the major concern for the European commission according to The Road Map for Gender Equality 2006-2010. In order to improve the present dilemma, there have been many legislative and non legislative developments to combat the challenges of discrimination and encourage gender equality in employment. Furthermore, despite the previously mentioned interventions above, there still persists a major gender pay gap which reflects on the overall factors of inequalities and thus discrimination in employment. On average women were earning on average 15% less than men in the European Union in 2005. (Cited in Commission of the European Communities Report 2007, pg 2) It was found that the gender pay gap still exists due to direct and indirect discrimination factors. It can also be attributed to social and economic factors. In regards to dismantling gender stereotypes the EU recommend gender mainstreaming and encourage ESF, ICT programmes in education and culture programmes in schools through media tools. In regards to the sixth and final key objective illustrated in the roadmap for equality in employment, the EU has proposed the development and amendment of policies extending to external neighbouring countries. The EU adheres to recognised values of the Millennium Development Declaration and the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA). The recent EU strategy for Africa is also committed to encouraging gender equality in external countries. The EU commits to promoting the need for education and freedom of opportunity and health and safety. Above all, it welcomes the participation of all women in the sphere of economic and political life in decision making. Four priority areas have been identified by the Commission these include, that pre-existing legal framework is fully applied and utilised whilst identifying areas for improvement. The active participation of all parties is also to be promoted in all Members of State. In addition to this, the European Strategy for Growth and Jobs should be applied in full to all employers. Above all the notion of good practice at all levels is to be stressed to overcome traditional stereotypes and discriminatory practices. The European Pact for Gender Equality 2006 stresses the importance of the commitments of the Member of states to take critical action in this area. Furthermore, several members of states have reunited to take prominent action regarding the labour market, education, training, and the balance of work and private life. Unfortunately there has been little progress in regards to commitments from the other member of states to take action addressing this issue according to the Commissions annual report on growth and jobs 2006.( cited in Commission of the European Communities Report 2007,pg 8) In defence of the above the Commission in 2007 vowed to improve the quality of statistics used in regards to the gender pay gap, in addition they have also promised to encourage all member of states to set key targets and limits for reducing the pay gap between man and women on the basis of data and findings gathered by the annual reports issued. The Commission is also in progress of setting up action programmes on equal opportunities for its own staff, it is apparent that within public administration there is a major pay gap which is directly influenced by the presence of occupational segregation and the small presence of women in decision making posts. Despite the overwhelming evidence that an increased amount of women are becoming more highly qualified, there is still a persistent fact they are still outnumbered by men in higher positions of hierarchy and importance, both in politics and business.(cited in Commission of the European Communities Report 2009,pg 5) According to the European Alliance on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) the notion of equality also poses as a competitive advantage as it utilises the staffs full productive potential. It encourages incentives to support good practice to tackle the inequalities in the pay. Currently the Commission already promotes good practice by raising awareness through the PROGRESS programme. (cited in Commission of the European Communities Report 2007,pg 9) In addition to the above, the Commission also proposes to introduce gender equality policies, to eradicate structural inequalities within the workplace in regards to improving the profile of occupations which are paid less. For instance, the Framework of actions on gender equality 2007, proposes awareness-raising and training measures in addition to the growth of wage comparison tools and strategies to decrease the pay gap. (cited in Commission of the European Communities Report 2007,pg10) Conclusion To conclude this assignment the notion of equality is integral to the values of the European Union. Despite the European Union making significant progress over time, in regards to developing directives, treaties and legislation. In addition to, the EU has reinforced gender mainstreaming via training and capacity building for those involved in policy making. Statistics indicate that gender inequality still persists in employment. The European Union have a long way in fulfilling key targets in dismantling gender inequality. In my personal opinion the EU key objectives need to be more transparent to the public in terms of setting realistic targets to strengthen gender mainstreaming across all member states in order to achieve change. References: Commission of the European Communities Report 2006 Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, The European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions(2006), A Roadmap for equality between women and men 2006-2010,Brussels,(Online) Available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2006:0092:FIN:EN:PDF (Accessed 20/11/2009) Commission of the European Communities Report 2007 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council,, The European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions(2007). Tackling the pay gap between women and men, Brussels,(Online) http://www.retepariopportunita.it/Rete_Pari_Opportunita/UserFiles/news/com_pay_gap_.pdf (Accessed 21/11/2009) Commission of the European Communities Report 2009 Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Brussels,(2009) Equality between women and men-2009 Brussels,(Online) http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2009:0077:FIN:EN:PDF (Accessed 21/11/2009) European Union http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union (Accessed 10/11/2009) Euro culture master http://www.euroculturemaster.org/pdf/kunstova.pdf (Accessed 12/11/2009) Europrofem http://www.europrofem.org/contri/2_04_en/en-gend/08en_gen.htm (accessed 23/11/2009) Jorgensen,N.,Bird,J.,Heyhoe,A.,Russell,B.,Savvas,M.,(1997).Sociology:An Interactive Approach,Collins Educational Union History http://www.unionhistory.info/equalpay/roaddisplay.php?irn=785 (Accessed 15/11/2009) Women Lobby http://www.womenlobby.org/site/1abstract.asp?DocID=184v1ID=RevID=namePage=pageParent=DocID_sousmenu (Accessyoutubeed 14/11/2009) http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=WCSunMx7EJ8Cpg=RA1-PA392lpg=RA1-PA392dq=theory-male+nurses+gender+equalitysource=blots=Bqru6biKWysig=PY0uthcQiq3VFmaaivgF6YEpLPQhl=enei=wnsdS46lJJeZjAfU_f2PBAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=2ved=0CAsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepageq=f=false

My Examination as a Writer Essay -- Essays Papers

My Examination as a Writer The process of examining me as a writer is not easy. Writing, for me, has never been an easy task. Many times I sat for hours contemplating my blank piece of paper just trying to figure out how to begin to write the creative writing assignment due in a few days for my high school English class. I knew that learning to write well took patience and practice, much like learning any other skill. I remember the long hard hours I spent developing my skills as a skateboarder. I knew that I had to find the same attitude to develop my writing skills. I knew also that I wanted to continue my education and pursue a law degree. Definitely my writing skills had to be developed. This September I found myself no longer as a high school student. I am now a college freshman in the University of Dayton. As a high school student in Puerto Rico, I competed with other Puerto Rican students who also had English as a second language. Now I panicked because I am submerged in a totally English-speaking environment. I was not sure that my ideas could su...