UC Santa Barbara is committed to excellence through diversity and ensuring nondiscrimination in the workplace. Per federal regulations, we will take affirmative action to ensure equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants and employees regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or service in the uniformed services.
Equal Opportunity
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics projections, the labor force in the United States is projected to increase by 17 million from 2000 to 2010. Statistics further indicate that the fastest rates of increase among workers will be among women and minorities. Therefore, employers must develop recruitment strategies that embrace and mirror these new demographic trends and support workplace equity initiatives. To devise an effective recruiting strategy, one must understand the mission of equal employment opportunity (EEO), the purpose of affirmative action plans and the management and value of diversity initiatives.
EEO means freedom from discrimination on the basis of sex, color, religion, national origin, disability and age. EEO rights are guaranteed by federal and state fair employment laws and are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and its state counterparts.
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is deemed a moral and social obligation to amend historical wrongs and eliminate the present effects of past discrimination. Affirmative Action Plans (AAPs) define an employer's standard for proactively recruiting, hiring and promoting women, minorities, disabled individuals and veterans. AAP's include numerical measures with the intent of increasing the representation of minorities. Federal contractors above certain dollar limits are required to institute AAP's under Executive Order 11246 and its regulations. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is charged with enforcing contractor affirmative action mandates.
Additional information can be found in the 'Guidelines For Addressing Race and Gender Equity in Academic Programs in Compliance with Proposition 209' found at http://www.ucop.edu/general-counsel/_files/guidelines-equity.pdf
For more information related to Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action policies, please visit our Policies page.