The struggle for equal employment opportunity has changed American law, influenced political campaigns, and affected the practices of virtually every business, labor union, and government agency in the country. It has led to intense and often bitter debates about fairness and raised fears of reverse discrimination. Its effects have spread to other countries around the world.

Although equal employment opportunity laws are often at the center of political debate, it has been difficult for students, teachers, and concerned citizens to learn about the controversy over EEO. Contributions to our understanding of EEO are scattered throughout professional journals in many fields and in a host of magazine articles and government reports, while many of the books on the subject are political arguments rather than attempts to present the issue in an objective way.

This collection of writings is the only broad, interdisciplinary introduction to the struggle for EEO and its consequences.

Equal Employment Opportunity: Labor Market Discrimination and Public Policy includes the work of major scholars in history, economics, sociology, politics, and law, presenting important debates about EEO law and its consequences, and putting the American situation into international context.

No other collection brings together articles on theories of discrimination; competing theories about the likely impact of EEO laws; analyses of the laws' impact on women, blacks, and other minorities; and debates about affirmative action.