The European Economic Community - a vehicle for promoting equal opportunities in Britain?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

From Great Expectations to Hard Times? Managing Equal Opportunities Under New Public Management

“…This outcome is unsurprising given that many of the traditional values associated with public administration, such as probity, impartiality, equity and notions of need and justice have much in common with traditional concepts of equality of opportunity. Moreover, the operationalization of equality management through the instituting of procedures and formalized rules and regulations, is not only commensurate with bureaucratic organization, it also owes much to the nature of UK equal opportunities legislation itself, which has been described as 'passive' or 'negative' in the sense that it is still guided overwhelmingly by the principle of non-discrimination (Edwards and McKie 1994). As Collins (1992) notes, most practitioners have long perceived a procedural approach to equality management as the most significant way of avoiding discrimination and achieving change:…”

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Attitudes and Practices of Mass Communication Programs Regarding Unpaid Student Internships

“…Universities, for-profit employers, and even individual students have strong incentives to continue the status quo regarding unpaid internships. For universities, motivation is especially strong when internships are required for academic credit paid for by students (Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010). “For universities it’s really cheap money,” explained Neff, the University of Washington communication professor.…”

“…The Economic Policy Institute similarly noted thatuniversities with more affluent student bodies may be content with the present system, as it confers their students with an advantage in applying to competitive internships and allows the school to highlight their internship placement record as a selling point to prospective students. (Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010, p. 6)…”

“…Meanwhile, for-profit employers “are able to replace regular workers (often, but certainly not exclusively low-wage and entry-level workers) with unpaid college interns and recent graduates” (Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010, p. 4). Unfortunately, individual students have no incentive to report even blatant cases of abuse because other students “will readily work for free” (Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010, p. 2) and because they fear being cast as troublemakers in the industry (McDonald, 2011, p. 3).…”