Workforce Planning Resources

Affirmative Action Overview

Understanding the Fundamentals

Equal Employment Opportunity is:

consistent with UH values.
required by state and federal law.
focused on hiring and promoting based on qualifications and merit.

A Workforce Affirmative Action Program is:

required by federal law.
a strategic business tool designed to ensure equal employment opportunity. An Affirmative Action Program does this by:
- monitoring the workforce to identify areas where protected classes are not fully represented or "utilized" and establishing "Good Faith Efforts" to move towards full representation.
- taking proactive steps to attract and recruit protected groups.
- ensuring equal pay for equal work.

Affirmative Action does not:

create a quota system.
create preferences except as required by law (such as veterans' preferences).
discriminate against non-minorities.

An Affirmative Action Program includes:

documentation of policies, practices, and procedures in place to ensure that all qualified applicants and employees receive an equal opportunity for recruitment, selection, advancement, and every other aspect of their employment.
results of specified quantitative analysis.
identified of areas of possible underutilization.
action-oriented programs.

Key Concepts in the Affirmative Action Plan

Underutilization is a condition in which women and minorities are not being employed at a rate that can be reasonably expected given their availability in the relevant labor pool. An Affirmative Action Plan includes specific action-oriented steps to address underutilization.

A Placement Rate Goal is:

established for job groups determined to be "underutilized."
a target that is reasonably attainable through the exercise of good faith efforts.
used to measure progress toward achieving equal employment opportunity.
not a finding, nor an admission, of discrimination.
expressed as a percentage placement rate rather than a number because the rate at which you do something is different from the number of times you do it.

UH, cannot under any circumstance, disclose the race/ethnicity of applicants, particularly to hiring managers because it is illegal to do so. UH needs to be able to show that applicants were selected for interviews without regard to their race/ethnicity or disability status.

Implementing and Monitoring the Affirmative Action Plan

UH demonstrates good faith efforts through:

recruitment efforts.
school and area-specific action-oriented programs.
University-wide programs for professional development.
equal opportunity for mentoring.

Departmental responsibilities include:

providing equal access to training and advancement opportunities.
having regular performance discussions with staff.
recognizing where "underutilization" exists in an area and implementing steps to address it in future recruiting efforts.
conducting meetings with managers to gain support and understanding of equal opportunity.
supporting positive outreach and recruitment efforts to increase the pool of applicants from which to choose.
preventing harassment of any kind in the workplace.

Recruiting Resources

Diversity Recruiting Resources

Increasing the pool of highly qualified applicants is essential for UH to effectively serve our students and achieve our goals. The search committee plays an important role in actively recruiting candidates. To assist search committees in their recruiting efforts, the Office of Equal Opportunity Services has assembled a list of diversity recruiting resources.

Advertising Resources

Associations/Organizational Resources

Faculty Resources

Wellesley College
Recruitment Resources and Guides for a Diverse Faculty:
Searchable Databases, Posting Outreach Sources by Discipline
Society for the Teaching of Psychology
Faculty Recruitment and Retention Resources:
References from the Literature, On-Line Resources, Selected Resources and Practices at Specific Institutions, Support Programs
American Association of University Professors
Resources on Diversity:
AAUP Policy, Research, & Analysis, AAUP Actions & Initiatives, Other AAUP Resources