Ward, Ward, Ward

Who is paying this man and why is this so important to him?

As he did in California in 1996 and in Washington state in 1998, California businessman Ward Connerly has led a successful campaign to place an anti-affirmative-action measure on Michigan’s November ballot.

The misleadingly named Michigan Civil Rights Initiative would amend the state’s constitution to end affirmative action programs for women and people of color in public employment, education and contracting. Many feel it’s also meant to subvert a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed race to remain a factor in admissions at the University of Michigan.

Opponents of the initiative believe it will roll back advances women and minorities have made in the state, and fail to correct still-glaring inequities. For example, Michigan is tied with Alabama for having the second-worst gender pay gap in America. In higher education, the state’s women earn fewer professional and doctorate degrees than the national women’s average.

A recent report by University of Michigan researcher Susan W. Kaufmann outlined the types of women’s programs that could be threatened should the ballot initiative pass. Those include:

• Gender-specific screening programs for breast and cervical cancer, and public-health campaigns to promote breastfeeding and prenatal smoking cessation.
  
• Apprenticeship, education and training programs for nontraditional occupations.
  
• Outreach programs to help women and minorities compete for government contracts.
  
• Recruitment and support programs for women interested in pursuing careers in the skilled trades.
  

In the aftermath of California’s Proposition 209, studies show that women have been underrepresented in the state’s skilled trades, graduate schools and college faculties. Gyöngy Laky, a professor at the University of California, Davis, has derisively called 209 “an effective affirmative action program for white men.”