Does Affirmative Action Work? Evidence from the Operation of Fair Employment Legislation in Northern Ireland

Abstract

An affirmative action programme, established by the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989, has been an important attempt to ensure 'fair participation' in employment for both Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland since 1990. The programme includes detailed monitoring of the community background of employees and requires employers to undertake remedial action where fair participation is not evident. Agreements were concluded between the regulatory agency and many employers specifying what affirmative action measures were required. Based on the annual monitoring returns submitted between 1990 and 2005, this article evaluates the effectiveness of the affirmative action programme in promoting fair employment participation using fixed effects models. The analysis shows that there has been a general shift towards workforce integration in Northern Ireland but the increase of under-represented groups in agreement concerns is greater than in concerns with no agreement. The success of agreements, however, is limited to certain industrial sectors and medium-sized enterprises. © The Author(s) 2012

Racial discrimination in Britain, 1969–2017: a meta‐analysis of field experiments on racial discrimination in the British labour market

“…The failure of legislation to reduce discrimination is not perhaps altogether surprising: there has been weak enforcement, little financial incentive for employers to change, and lack of monitoring. Racial equality has not been a priority for firms or governments, contrasting with the much stricter enforcement of the Fair Employment legislation in Northern Ireland (Muttarak, Hamill, Heath and McCrudden ).…”

Advancing gender equality in the construction sector through public procurement: Making effective use of responsive regulation

“…The United States has been particularly proactive in addressing minority underrepresentation in construction employment using federal contracting provisions, described as a form of affirmative action (Muttarak et al, 2013). Women’s numbers in the US construction trades are similar to the UK, accounting for only 2.6% of workers in construction and extraction occupations, unchanged in three decades (National Women’s Law Center, 2014).…”

Deliberative Democracy in Northern Ireland: Opportunities and Challenges for Consensus in a Consociational System

“…The historical ramifications of discrimination against Catholics in Northern Ireland are slowly being overcome by Fair Employment legislation (Muttarak et al, 2013). Although unemployment rates are still higher for Catholics (9 percent) than for Protestants (6 percent), there has been a rapid catch-up in economic activity, largely the result of educational achievement (Nolan, 2013).…”