The Affirmative Action Plan

The following Affirmative Action Plan is a response by Company XYZ to a growing concern for providing equal opportunity to all prospective and current employees. XYZ is a industry leader and therefore has the express responsibility to set an example for affirmative action. In addition to a commitment to complying with all state and federal laws, XYZ is also firmly committed to a diverse workplace environment, and a workplace free of any manifestation of discrimination. XYZ is therefore dedicated to making appropriate changes to our policies and procedures wherever necessary, in order to comply with the law and to comply with our company mission. This Affirmative Action Plan is an expression of such willingness to make changes. The proposals contained herein pertain specifically to the following changes. First, we propose equal opportunities for men and women concerning maternity and paternity leaves of absence. We also want to reassure all employees that their jobs remain secure during their leaves of absence. Second, we have been increasingly aware of a lack of diversity at the upper management levels of our corporation. XYZ proposes to increase workplace diversity at this crucial level of the company by ensuring equal opportunities for promotions by women, minorities, and people with disabilities. Third, XYZ remains firmly committed to equalizing salaries, compensation rates, and benefits for all employees and XYZ will not tolerate discrepancies between the salaries of workers in the same position. This Affirmative Action Plan will not only defend our commitment to equal opportunity but will also outline the steps we propose to remedy the current situation and to increase diversity at XYZ. With regards to maternity and paternity leave, we assure all female employees that maternity leave will consist of a paid leave of absence for the duration of between twenty and thirty weeks. The leave of absence does not have to be taken in consecutive days and may be broken up into segments. Due to widespread concern, XYZ is expanding company policy to include male workers for eligibility for paternity leave. It is our belief that fathers should participate fully in every stage of their child's development and therefore XYZ wishes to facilitate this process. Any male employee who seeks paternity leave will be granted a leave of absence equal in length and equal in compensation with their female counterparts. The lack of diversity evident at upper management levels of XYZ is a growing concern among all employees. XYZ has managed to retain a diverse workforce at every other level of our operation except for upper-level management and therefore we realize the necessity for change as well as the possibility to implement change. This Affirmative Action Plan in part proposes that promotions be made with conscientious attention paid to recruiting management staff who are as of now underrepresented. Under-representation will be defined according to the workforce population as a whole, and secondarily, according to the demographics of our community. We believe that equal representation at upper management levels is of the utmost importance because of the significance of the decisions made at that level. Finally, XYZ ensures all employees that equal pay for equal work remains a top priority. While XYZ does comply with state and federal regulations regarding equal pay for equal work, we feel that far more can be done to balance out the discrepancies between compensation and benefit rates for male and female employees. Gender in particular remains a major factor determining pay rates. Again, upper-level management is the sector most affected by unequal compensation rates. This Affirmative Action Plan sets forth a guideline for easing XYZ into a salary-equity program that will result in a steady increase of pay for underpaid employees without discrimination against employees who are already earning the target salaries.