Editorial
| Published date | 01 December 2013 |
| Date | 01 December 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1358229113500417 |
| Subject Matter | Editorial |
Editorial
Contents
Michael Connolly
Achieving social mobility: The role of equality law
Ta’Ronce M Stowes
A call to action: Challenging diversity initiatives in the wake of Fisher v.
University of Texas at Austin
Adejoke Oyewunmi
The promotion of sexual equality and non-discrimination in the
workplace: A Nigerian perspective
Editorial 13(4)
The importance of access to university education in achieving equality and social mobi-
lity is considered in this issue. Michael Connolly considers the role of discrimination law
in the context of declining social mobility in the UK. Despite the Government’s
acknowledgement of this problem, it has not developed the use of equality law in this
area. Private school students are over-represented in the leading universities and top jobs
and expensive school fees make this education inaccessible to the majority of the pop-
ulation. Connolly considers the role of positive action in dealing with the challenging
problem of discrimination on socio-economic grounds and discusses whether school
background could be treated as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act to
improve the situation. A public sector equality duty in education, he argues, would have
some effect in terms of university admissions.
Ta’Ronce Stowes considers affirmative action policies in relation to university
admissions in the United States. He reviews the history of affirmative action policies
with reference to state and federal initiatives as well as Supreme Court jurisprudence.
Statistical data from leading universities and law firms, as he argues, shows the under-
representation of black and Hispanic students. Stowes questions whether the pr opor-
tionate representation of these groups will be achieved without a commitment to
International Journalof
Discrimination and theLaw
13(4) 259–260
ªThe Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/1358229113500417
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