ABSTRACT
In this final chapter, we provide a brief review of the previous chapters, followed by an integrating framework. In chapter 1, we reviewed the experiences of six countries in dealing with employment equity/affirmative action and antidiscrimination policies relating to women and racial groups. As we noted, we deliberately chose six countries to indicate their varying responses to the equity challenge. There is no universal panacea or prescription for resolving the employment problems of disadvantaged groups in each of the countries. Cultural constraints and unique features of the policies and the groups covered have an impact on the success of such programs. For instance, constitutional provisions resulting in quotas for the disadvantaged groups in India and Malaysia, based on the cultural imperatives in these countries, have achieved mixed success. In the United States and Canada, consistent with a free market and liberal philosophy, reliance is placed on organizations to develop their own goals and timetables consistent with their business/strategic plans. Some of the minority groups and women in these two countries have achieved a great deal of progress, but much remains to be done. In these two countries, the policies do not mandate quotas, and yet, perhaps due to better enforcement relative to India, some groups have seen their earnings and occupational status enhanced. In Britain, owing to its voluntarist tradition, little evidence of progress in the economic status of racial minorities is evident; however, not all racial minorities have fared equally badly there. Thus, the Chinese and Indians fare much better than the Bangladeshis or Pakistanis. Though it may be too early to make conclusive statements on the South African experience, improved representation of a previously disadvantaged majority is occurring incrementally.
