Abstract
The problem of discrimination can be discussed as the controversial question in the field of public administration. That is why, the public administrators’ task is to focus on the effective implementation of anti-discrimination policies and programs in the United States in order to cope with the social problem of discrimination as the threat to the social peace and welfare.
Breaking Barriers: African American Women in Science as the public program addresses the role of prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination in preventing the African American women from developing their careers in science. From this point, public administrators focus on implementing and developing public policies and programs to address the issue of gender and race discrimination in the United States. To evaluate the identified public program, it is necessary to focus on analyzing the background of the social problem, public organizations’ activities, and assess the need for the program.
The Analytical Framework Design
Public administration issues differ in relation to their topic, character, and importance for the society. From this point, the problem of discrimination as the focus on the obvious difference in treating persons depending on their gender, race, age, and other qualities is one of the most controversial questions in the field of public administration. Breaking Barriers: African American Women in Science can be discussed as belonging to the range of public policies and programs developed to correct the specific discriminatory effect of social tendencies and practices and address the public issue while enhancing the promotion of equal opportunities for all the members of the American society without references to the race and gender aspects.
The problem addressed by the program is the role of prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination in preventing the African American women from developing their careers in the scientific and other fields. To evaluate the public program in relation to its ability to address the controversial public issue of gender and race discrimination, it is necessary to focus on analyzing the background of the social problem, public organizations’ activities, and assess the need for the program.
Background of the Issue of Gender and Race Discrimination in the American Society
The issue of gender and race discrimination is discussed in the field of public administration since the nineteenth century as the problem which was considered among the consequences of the Civil War. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was developed to address the issue of discrimination in relation to the field of public administration. However, this act as the first step in coping with the problem of race discrimination in the American society was not authorized (Schultz, 2009, p. 120).
The modern era of overcoming the discrimination in all its forms starts with signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This act addressed the issue of race and gender discrimination among the other civil rights topics (Schultz, 2009, p. 120). However, in spite of the fact that the Civil Rights Movement resulted in developing many effective policies to address the issue of discrimination in the American society, the problem of race and gender discrimination in different forms is still urgent for the American society because many African American males and females become the victims of the discriminatory attitudes annually.
Modern anti-discrimination policies used in the United States can be divided into active anti-discrimination policies, such as the affirmative action, and the passive non-discrimination policies and programs developed to contribute to the public’s awareness of the problem, such as Breaking Barriers: African American Women in Science, the public program developed by the Science Makers and History Makers to address the issue of gender and race discrimination in the sphere of science and career (Breaking Barriers, 2012). African American women can be discussed as belonging to the most vulnerable category of the American society because of the experienced discrimination as a result of stereotypical visions and prejudice.
Questions Connected with the Nature of the Problem and Evaluated Program
The public administration issue associated with the problem of race and gender discrimination in the American society can be explained as the necessity to enhance the promotion of equal education and career opportunities for all the Americans, while focusing on the rights of the African American females as the representatives of the vulnerable social category (Milakovich & Gordon, 2008, p. 112).
From this perspective, the questions that correlate with the discussed public issue’s nature and the questions that focus on finding the remedy to respond to the problem are the following ones: Can the non-discrimination Breaking Barriers public program address the issue of gender and race discrimination in the American society effectively? Does the program propose resources and strategies to cope with the problem of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination in relation to the career of the African American women in science? What are the potential positive outcomes of implementing and supporting such a passive non-discrimination program as Breaking Barriers?
Assessment of the Need for the Program
The topic and problem to be explored is the race and gender discrimination in relation to the education and career of the African American women. The society demonstrates the need for addressing the problem while referring to the rates of African American women working in the field of science. To evaluate the non-discrimination Breaking Barriers public program, it is necessary to focus on such a research method as the evaluability assessment proposed by Wholey because the method is based on such effective activities as the clear description of the program model and goals, the assessment of the model’s evaluability, and the identification of stakeholders’ interest to conclude about the program’s appropriateness to address the public issue (Rossi, 2003, p. 136-139).
The focus on the mentioned points should be supported with the program’s evaluation according to such criteria as the program’s goals, the program’s design, implementation strategy, the program’s outcomes, the program’s costs, and the overall effectiveness in meeting the stakeholders’ needs and interests (Rainey, 2009, p. 69; Rossi, 2003, p. 71-82). The proposed model and criteria are effective to be referred to while evaluating the program because they allow analyzing the program regarding the effectiveness of all its aspects and social significance. Thus, the crucial steps in the process of the program’s assessment are the evaluation of the program in relation to the above-mentioned criteria.
Following Wholey’s assessment, it is necessary to concentrate on the program’s model and objectives as the first steps of the assessment. The goals of the Breaking Barriers program are to support and inspire the African American women who plan the career in the field of science while addressing the problem of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. These goals address only one point associated with the topic of discrimination against women and African Americans. The program’s design depends on the organization of a range of meetings and training activities to motivate the African American women to cope with the discrimination issue. Thus, the program’s model responds to the passive non-discrimination character of the proposed policy.
While focusing on the assessment of the model’s evaluability, it is important to evaluate the program’s implementation strategy and support for the public. The implementation strategy of the Breaking Barriers program is based on the organization of meetings and promotion of the information among the certain categories of the population. The proposed implementation strategy can be discussed as rather effective to address the concrete problem of the African American women’s work in the field of science because of the issue’s scope (Jupp & Younger, 2004, p. 20; Rossi, 2003, p. 136-139).
The program proposes the support for the limited category of the American population depending on the program’s goals and objectives. The Breaking Barriers program’s potential positive outcomes are the decrease in the discriminatory practices in the field of education and employment in relation to the African American women and the increase in the rate of the of the African American female scientists working in the United States. However, the problem is in the fact that it is difficult to evaluate the short-term outcomes of the program’s implementation (Langbein, 2012, p. 54). The associated costs can be discussed as appropriate to develop the program and complete the goal.
The overall effectiveness of the program in relation to meeting the stakeholders’ needs and interests and social impact can be discussed as rather high because of the long-term potential benefits. According to such experts as Milakovich and Gordon, the passive non-discrimination programs and policies are affective to increase the public’s awareness of the problem, but they are not effective enough to cope with the concrete problem (Milakovich & Gordon, 2008, p. 114). That is why, the Breaking Barriers program’s cannot be discussed as effective to resolve the problem within the short terms.
Discussion and Conclusion
The potential remedies of the problem of race and gender discrimination in the American Society include the development and implementation of the anti-discrimination policies and programs which address concrete smaller issues. Breaking Barriers: African American Women in Science is the passive non-discrimination public program which is designed to address the problem of prejudice and discrimination in the field of science in relation to the African American females.
There are many potential barriers associated with the development and implementation of anti-discrimination policies. Such public organizations as the coalitions and organizations specialized in promoting civil rights are responsible for developing and regulating the programs to address the issue of discrimination in the American society (Schultz, 2009, p. 21). The barriers faced by these public organizations are the necessity to draw the public’s attention to the problem, to find sponsors to support the project and cover costs, to address all the categories needed the assistance in coping with the problem, and to make the program effective.
The challenges that may influence the need for the program are the changes in the public’s vision of the program and its objectives, ineffective governmental policies, and the ineffective realization of the public administration tasks. While focusing on the Breaking Barriers program, it is important to note that the main challenge is the impossibility of the program to result in the short-term obvious outcomes.
Ideal outcomes from the research are the improvement of such a passive non-discrimination program as Breaking Barriers: African American Women in Science in relation to the short-term outcomes. To guarantee that the program is effective to address the problem of prejudice and discrimination in relation to African American women, it is necessary to focus not only on meetings and trainings but also on the promotion of the associated social campaigns in the American scientific organizations to propose grants and opportunities to stimulate the short-term results and obvious changes in the situation.
References
Breaking Barriers: African American Women in Science. (2012). Web.
Jupp, V., & Younger, M. (2004). High performance government: A value model for the public sector. Web.
Langbein, L. I. (2012). Public program evaluation: A statistical guide. USA: M.E. Sharpe.
Milakovich, M., & Gordon, G. (2008). Public administration in America. USA: Cengage Learning.
Rainey, H. G. (2009). Understanding and managing public organizations. USA: Jossey-Bass.
Rossi, P. (2003). Evaluation: A systematic approach. USA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Schultz, D. (2009). Encyclopedia of public administration and public policy. USA: Infobase Publishing.