We had something like that in the U.S. known as affirmitive action, where businesses, public agencies, etc had a quota of so many minorites and females that had to be employed. I worked for 15 years as a deputy sheriff in California and it was bad. "White Males Need Not Apply" was the unoffical slogan. We had female deputies hired that simply were unable to fill the physical or mental needs of the job. We had minorities hired the same way. It created a huge strain in the department when these people were promoted that were not qualified and had not earned the promotions but were promoted because they "fit the profile". We had one female dep that froze during a fight in the field one day. He partner was getting beaten up by an ex convict going for his gun and she couldn't react. A citizen had to step in and save her partner. They wouldn't fire her or discipline her in any way. Same way with the fire department here. They lower the standards for females because they can't pass the physical test. Now, I ask you, if you need the fire department, do you want the fireman who is going to get the job done and save your life or the female who is going to give her best try. The physical needs of the job do not change. I wish they would just get rid of the whole age, race, gender issue all together and hire the best person for the job, whoever that is.

Jodi

Wow!

That is really bad that positions in dangerous occupations were being filled by inadequetes. I don't mind equality but its stories like yours that disturb me because of a reliance on some one that isn't up the job. The idea of having lacklustre police officers is just as bizzare! I wouldn't expect to get a job based on what is between my legs...or my chest..

Makes me wonder if the current Government is doing as much damage as possible for the next group. Aren't white males classed as a race?

It really is a problem when you hire based on gender, race anything other than qualification. We had students get accepted into our major universities because of race, passing up other students that actually had the grades to be there. The students that didn't earn that position didn't take thier studies as serious and several didn't make it through their first year. They did manage to take up space from those students willing to put forth the effort. Affirmitive action came into play because minorites and women were being discriminated against and this was their answer.
The other side of it is when you are hired for a position, especially one that requires special skills, you have to constantly question whether you received the position because you earned it. I worked my tail off as a female deputy and was thought well of by my male peers. I've seen several of my white male peers passed up for jobs they very much deserved because they had to fill spots with females or minorites that had only a fraction of the experience.
The other outcome of "equality bills" is that the people getting jobs they haven't worked for is the sense of entitlement those groups begin to display, which is very frustrating. They begin to display an attitude that they deserve those jobs because of the wrongs suffered by others in their group, which is just ridiculous. White males in the US really do have a discrimination case because even when they score very high on entrance exams for different positions they are told that women and minorities are given priority.

Jodi