Affirmative Action as a Means of Social Inclusion: Myths and Realities, by Aruna Rao and David Kelleher Gender at Work March 2005

1. Affirmative Action as a Means of Social Inclusion: Myths and
Realities
Aruna Rao and David Kelleher
Gender at Work
March 2005
Without institutions that make government accountable to its citizens,
the idea of efficient, equitable, sustained and benevolent (pro-poor)
public action …is a myth
Lynn Bennett, Nepal Gender and Social Exclusion Assessment, 2005
Background: The Gender and Social Exclusion Assessment (GSEA)’s framework
for social transformation posits two intersecting processes: social inclusion and
empowerment.1 Social inclusion is understood as a top down process to change
the opportunity structure within which people can act and changing incentives
and the capacity of institutions so that they respond equitably to citizens’
demands. The complementary process of empowerment has to do with
enhancing the assets and capabilities of people to earn their livelihoods and to
organize themselves to demand broader institutional change. Transformational
change is seen as an outcome of the interaction between marginalized groups
and the dominant institutional context.
In Nepal, the GSEA asserts that “gender, caste and ethnicity are three interlocking institutions or ‘rules of the game’ that determine individual and group
access to assets, capabilities and voice based on socially defined identity.”2 As
in many places but perhaps more so than most, the playing field is not level
and the rules of the game are not fair but they are held in place by power and
privilege embedded in dynamics of relationships, ideas, and organizations.3
Inserted into this landscape characterized by social, economic and
psychological discrimination and disenfranchisement, affirmative action is
posited as a means of contributing to social inclusion.
This paper reviews international affirmative action theory and practice,
analyzes the affirmative action debates in the Nepalese context, and proposes
possible directions for action.
1
Lynn Bennett, Nepal Gender and Social Exclusion Assessment, January 2005
Ibid., Chapter 2: A Framework for Social Transformation
3
This conceptualization draws on North’s definition of institutions (1990) and Rao and Walton’s
definitions of culture (2004)
2
1

2. Affirmative action is generally perceived as steps taken to correct historical
disadvantage and unfair discrimination by enabling access to full opportunity
and benefits. The term ‘affirmative action’ first emerged in an executive order
signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. That order required government
contractors not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color or national
origin in employment. But it was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that inserted
affirmative action into political and administrative language of the country. In
the United States, affirmative action is modeled on individual rights or the
right to equal opportunity. It means equal opportunity for all in education,
jobs, promotion, business, and governmental contracts. Candidates chosen
under affirmative action have to meet the criteria laid down for the job. These
policies applied to educational institutions and recruitment in both public and
private sectors.4
However, the idea of compensatory measures to correct past wrongs or
institutionalized discrimination predates the civil rights movement in the
United States.5 The Indian Constitution which came into force in January 1950,
for example, guarantees equality to all citizens, which goes beyond equality of
opportunity as in the case of affirmative action in the US, to the guarantee of
reservations or quotas in
education, jobs, and to
Article 14 of the Indian constitution ensures
legislative
“equality before law or the equal protection
of law within the territory of India”. Article
representation. The
15 guarantees reservation in admission to
Indian Constituent
educational institutions. Article 16 (4)
Assembly decided that
guarantees reservation in service read as
caste was the defining
follows:- “Nothing in this article shall prevent
criterion for
the state from making any provision for the
reservation of appointment or posts in favor
reservations.
of any backward class of citizens which , in
The array of preferential
the opinion of the state, is not adequately
measures beyond
represented in the service under the state.
reservations to advance
Moreover, Article 17 of the Constitution
abolishes “Untouchability"
the interests of those
considered “weaker”
sections of the
population in India extend from the allotment of petrol stations, scholarships
and the construction of hostels for students to land allotments, health care,
legal aid and poverty alleviation schemes. 6 Thus, the Supreme Court of India
has expanded the meaning of reservations from ‘equality of opportunity’ which
4
For a full discussion of affirmative action in the US and reservations in India see Neera
Chandoke, “Locating Affirmative Action” mimeo, 2004.
5
According to Gopal Guru reservations go back more than a hundred years in India and political
reservations were used by the British in pre-independence for Muslims (“The reservations policy
in India: An Overview with reference to dalits”, mimeo)
6
Sudhir Krishnaswamy, “Diversity and Affirmative Action in the Era of Privatisation:
The Bangalore Initiative”, mimeo, Bangalore, India Sept 20, 2003
2

3. considers disadvantage to ‘equality of result’ which locks resources in place for
disadvantaged groups.
A parallel can be found in the distinction increasingly drawn by human rights
lawyers between formal and substantive equality. Formal equality assumes that
people are the same and that they start from the same point and so treats
people equally. In contrast, substantive equality recognizes that treating
everyone the same without recognizing inequalities ends up perpetuating
inequality. So, substantive equality approaches focus on remedying past
discrimination. 7
While formal sex equality judges the form of a rule, requiring that it treat women and men
on the same terms without special barriers or favors on account of their sex, substantive
equality looks to a rule's results or effects. Formal rule equality often does not produce
equal results because of significant differences in the characteristics and circumstances of
women and men. Advocates of substantive equality demand that rules take account of
these differences to avoid gender-related outcomes that are considered unfair. Determining
what differences should be taken into account and in what ways -- in short, what is fair -- is
not always an easy matter. Thus, substantive equality is not one theory, but several
theories, reflecting multiple types and sources of difference and a number of alternative or
overlapping substantive ideals. One version of substantive equality attempts to remedy the
effects of past discrimination. For example, women historically have been excluded either
by law or by gender role norms from having certain jobs excluded wages comparable to
those earned by men. "Affirmative action" designed to boost women into occupational fields
dominated historically by men and "comparable worth" schemes designed to restructure
wage scales to eliminate the effects of past patterns of gender-based job segregation are
examples of remedial measures designed to reverse the effects of this past discrimination.
Katharine T. Bartlett and Angela Harris
Gender and Law: Theory, Doctrine, Commentary 261-262 (1998).
In direct contrast to the experience of the United States and India, Malaysia
employs affirmative action measures to cement the privileges of the majority
to counter the economic domination of the minority Chinese and Indians.
Reverting form an earlier secular constitution, the 1951 constitution instituted
Islam as the national religion and Malay as the national language and
introduced special rights for the majority including employment quotas in
public services, scholarships and business permits, and in landownership. These
majority rights were further consolidated in 1971on biological differences
Another type of substantive equality focuses through a special rights
package for the Bhumiputras or sons of the soil and Chinesefor example,were
between women and men. Only women become pregnant, and Indians and
expected to assimilate into Malay culture and their citizenship rights are based
pregnancy may of the dominant group. 8
on the “consent” disadvantage a woman worker with respect to job
opportunities, seniority, and job security. Maternity leave provisions, child
care assistance, and seniority guarantees are examples of measures within
7 a substantive equality framework that are designed to neutralize this
For greater detail see, Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD), Special Measures for
disadvantage. More radical substantive
Women and Their Impact, Khatmandu, April 2003 equality approaches look beyond
8
Chandoke, op. cit., p.15 to social expectations and practices such as those
biological difference
that steer women into lower-paying occupational categories, encourage
3
their economic dependence on men, and lead them to be the primary
caretakers of their children. These more radical approaches attempt to
reverse these expectations and practices, or eliminate their costs.

4. There are many terms used to refer to remedial measures to address economic
and social disadvantage --affirmative action, reservations, quotas etc. – which
are often used synonymously, and so it would help to decipher their
differences9:
Affirmative action
Reservations or reserved seats
Quotas
Compensatory discrimination
“This is an enabling concept which suggests
the conditions necessary to bring the
person from disadvantaged groups to the
minimum level of competition” or “where
other things become equal”.
Setting aside a percentage of seats for
certain identified disadvantaged groups.
For example, reserved seats for women in a
legislative assembly which can be filled by
competitive election or by appointment
Requiring that a minimum number of
persons selected by a system be from
designated disadvantaged groups. For
example, the Argentine ‘Ley de Cupos’
states that each party list should contain a
minimum of 30 percent women.
“This is defined in terms of reference to
the past whereby historical wrongs such as
by the whites in the case of the United
States and upper castes in India is sought to
be compensated in the present.”
“Compensatory discrimination has
reparations as its defining condition”.
The Enabling Environment: One of the enduring myths about affirmative
action is that it is a one stop solution whereas, in fact, thoughtful analysts
point to the limited ability of remedial measures such as affirmative action,
reservations or quotas alone to trigger significant social change.
The notion of affirmative action should not serve to drive the idea that economic and
social marginality can be redressed by other remedial measures that spring from our
political imaginations. Nor are affirmative action policies a substitute for the entire
package of measures that address social and economic marginalization. Nor should the
indiscriminate use of affirmative action policies come to serve as a soft option either
for the state or for groups that struggle for justice in society. More importantly, wide
ranging remedial measures such as redistribution of land ownership, which addresses
the source rather than the symptoms of structural domination, may actually prove
more effective in the long run to guide a society into the path of justice. To put it
strongly: affirmative action policies should be taken seriously and employed sparingly.
Neera Chandhoke, Locating Affirmative Action, 2004
9
These definitions are drawn from Gopal Guru, op. cit, and Mala Htun, “Using Gender Quotas
to Increase Representation in Politics: Experiences and Challenges”, Paper prepared for the
Millennium Project Task Force on Education and Gender Equality, April 2003.
4

5. While affirmative action policies to be effective must be grounded in
constitutional guarantees of equality, they must also be complemented by a
“confluence of factors, all of which cannot be achieved through a single
legislation or through a series of legislations and executive orders”10. Gail
Omvedt states for example, that “compensatory discrimination programs”,
direct political power, cultural communities and economic groups converge to
create the pressures necessary to achieve the goals of affirmative action
initiatives.11 In keeping with this strategy, the Bhopal Declaration of 2002
which charts a new course for Dalits for the 21st century refers to several issues
including access to land, the prevention of atrocities and the democratization
of capital to ensure the social progress of Dalit and Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe communities. Similarly, the Kathmandu Dalit Declaration of
2004 inter alia calls on governments in caste-affected countries to ensure that
“all necessary constitutional, legislative and administrative measures, including
appropriate forms of affirmative action and public education programs, are in
place to prevent, prohibit and redress caste-based discrimination.” These
include but are not limited to access to land, education, health, housing,
employment and common resources, affirmative action to ensure Dalit
representation in the civil service, police and judiciary, measures to end
trafficking and abuse of Dalit women and girls, and reform of major institutions
such as the political and criminal justice systems.12
In the political arena, the importance of other enabling factors for reservations
or quotas also holds true. Mala Htun’s findings from a global study on the effect
of quotas on increasing women’s political representation points out that norms
and meanings codified in institutions have a lot to offer an analysis of women’s
leadership. “Social democratic states are more conducive to women’s
leadership, since countries where women’s representation is highest are
countries with large welfare states such as in Nordic Europe and communist
Cuba.” Moreover, “states that acknowledge gender difference as a constituent
component of the political order, while upholding democratic equal rights, are
more conducive to women’s leadership than liberal democracies that treat
citizens the same regardless of sex.”13
10
Krishnaswamy, op. cit.
Gail Omvedt, Reservation in the Private Sector,
http://www.ambedkar.org/gasil/purposeofhtml.
12
Kathmandu Dalit Declaration, International Consultation on Caste-based Discrimination,
Establishing Dalit Rights in the Contemporary World; the Role of Governments, the United
Nations and the Private Sector; November 29 – December 1 2004; Kathmandu, Nepal
11
13
Mala Htun, op. cit., pp 21-22
5

6. Another aspect of this myth concerns
Where the differences have been
not how well it will work but what it
created through resource allocation
will produce. Does women’s
decisions that were interventionist by
participation in politics, for example,
nature and tantamount to social
change policies and politics? The use of
engineering, strong intervention on a
political level will be required to
quotas has become quite widespread –
correct such diversity issues and their
about 22 countries have statutory
consequences.
gender quotas; another 11 countries
reserve seats in their national
Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Minister of
legislatures and/or local councils for
Public Service Administration, Republic
of South Africa, 2001
women; and approximately 33
countries have political parties that
apply gender quotas on a voluntary basis.14 Those looking for failures will find
them because while “women’s presence in power serves as an indicator of a
society’s fairness and has the potential to trigger more fundamental changes in
gender relations”, such changes are not guaranteed. As Htun points out
“…those who expect that women’s greater presence will produce major
changes in governance, lead to greater human security, and reduce inequality
may wait a long time.” This is both because women in power do not necessarily
represent a particular or necessarily more altruistic interest but also because
the ‘add women and stir’ approach does not challenge fundamental biases in
power relations and system practices that favor the status quo. As we have
noted in the discussion of the women’s, dalits and janajati wings of Nepal’s
major political parties, organizational cultures that socialize incumbents to
behave in certain ways (in this case to follow established age, caste and
gender hierarchies) will tend to drown out different voices and discordant
values. Indeed such organizational cultures are likely to “punish” behavior that
deviates from their values by ignoring or expelling the deviant individual.
The multiple aspects of social inclusion processes needed for change are
illustrated in the analysis and interventions taking place in the South African
public service. Under apartheid, the all white bureaucracy serviced the state
by keeping resources in the hand of the minority white population. After 1994,
with the new government in place under President Mandela, radical
transformation was required in both the normative frameworks (constitution,
laws) and institutional mechanisms to address the aspirations and needs of the
new South Africa and its majority black population. To make state mechanisms
serve rather than oppress the people meant changing their make-up and
orientation. Affirmative action in this context was aimed at bringing into the
bureaucracy hitherto excluded groups and then working with this new public
service in ways that better fit the changed priorities. (For a more detailed
description of the South African approach to affirmative action see Annex A)
14
Htun, op. cit., p2
6

7. The raison d’etre of the old South African public service was to deny access of
resources to the majority of the population. The bureaucracy constituted the
essence of the Apartheid state machinery. There is no reason to believe that
merely exposing old style, white male public servants to sensitizing interventions
and more conversation and dialogue between themselves would have sufficiently
changed them. Such limited managerial interventions would not have been
sufficiently strong to bring them around to become a machinery that equally
enthusiastically executes policy in the interest of a non-racial, non-sexist,
democratic South Africa, serving our very diverse population in commendable and
responsive ways. …One had to break the monopoly that white males had on senior
public service positions. By setting very clear minimal targets that moved closer to
be reflecting the overall population profile, one had to introduce diversity in the
first place, before you could start tapping into the advantages that a diverse
public service has to offer.
Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Minister of Public Service Administration, Republic of
South Africa, 2001
After 10 years of a post-apartheid government, many gains have been made but
the road ahead is long and rocky. A 1998 survey found that white males
(approximately 6% of the population) constituted 89% of senior South African
management. Even after 4 years of affirmative action white people comprised
13% of the “economically active” yet they made up 76% of the most senior
positions in business15. By 2005, while the Public Service Commission reports
that whites made up only 13% of the bureaucracy and that the percentages of
women to men were almost equal, at management levels, blacks and particular
black females lag far behind. Blacks comprised only 32% of all legislators, 18%
of all top management positions and 22 % of all senior management positions in
the labor force.16 Changing the face of the bureaucracy is one thing; making it
act in service of the majority poor black population is quite another. While
diversity in state mechanisms is seen as a necessary condition it is not
sufficient for addressing the needs of the population. As in India and other
places, the experience of South Africa teaches us that there are no quick onestop means of overcoming historical discrimination which has of necessity been
bolstered by powerful meaning systems that delve deep into people’s value
systems and self identities.
Affirmative Action and Bureaucratic Change: Affirmative action is highly
contentious because it is essentially about shifting power relations. Unlike the
South African case however, most affirmative action and diversity efforts in
public systems and private companies sidestep political redistribution by
narrowing the focus to managerial solutions within the context of the existing
“rules of the game” under which the bureaucracy has habitually functioned.
Even the space for such “marginal” change is highly contested because many
incumbents see affirmative action as diluting the quality and standards of
bureaucracy as well as unfairly limiting their own opportunities.
15
South African Department of Labor, Commission for Employment Equity, Annual Report,
2002-03.
16
Ibid., p. viii
7

8. Much of diversity management as a field and affirmative action efforts within
that field, focus on the individual. The wide range of individual differences is
celebrated with the intention of creating a diverse workforce and working
across differences of culture, religion, experiences and work styles to
accomplish organizational goals. The premise here is that for both the private
and public sector a diverse workforce is better able to serve a diverse
clientele. For the private sector diversity is also seen to improve the firm’s
ability to respond to an increasingly volatile business climate and in the public
sector, a civil service that reflects the gender, ethnic, racial, linguistic and
other salient social identities of the country’s citizens becomes an important
foundation for state legitimacy. This has spawned a subfield of theory and
practice in public administration and management which has been utilized in
many public systems contexts. 17 In contrast to the management approach to
diversity, some public systems like the South African Public Service and
Administration specifically chose political intervention first, to address issues
of racial diversity18. This included the formulation of a series of public policies
on the transformation of the public service19 including the setting of targets for
hiring, and changing its ethos to a client orientation backed by a progressive
constitution which establishes a human rights and democratic framework within
which to proceed.
Representation and the Merit Principle: As defined by Sheela Rai, “the
meritocratic ideal is that positions in society should be based on the abilities
and achievements of the individual rather than on characteristics such as
family background, race, religion or wealth... According to this notion an
individual’s work should be assessed by scientific objective criteria because an
individual’s work is the outcome of his talent and not of his belonging to any
group.”20 This view is attacked both on the grounds that existing standards may
not be valid because they have been set by those currently in power and that a
truly “objective standard” may not be possible. Critics point out that merit is
often defined by the dominant group and therefore, the merit tests may not be
the real indicators of a person’s ability to perform well. Critical race theorists
17
See for example the papers presented at the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on
Managing Diversity in the Civil Service (UN Headquarters, New York, 3-4 May 2001); Working
with Diversity: A Focus on Global Organizations, Center for Gender in Organizations, November
2000; World Bank’s Civil service Reform website on Practitioner Literature (www.practitionerlit.com); and papers on affirmative action and civil service reform produced for the
Commonwealth Association for Public Admin and Management, Toronto, Canada.
18
See “Tackling Diversity”. Keynote Address of the Honorable Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi,
Minister of Public Service and Administration, Republic of South Africa at the UN Expert Group
Meeting on Managing Diversity in the Civil Service, May 2001
19
White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service, 1995; White Paper on Transforming
Public Service Delivery; White Paper on Affirmative Action in the Public Service; and White
Paper on Human Resource Development, 1997.
20
Sheela Rai, “Social and Conceptual Background to the Policy of Reservation”, Economic and
Political Weekly, October 19, 2002
8

9. in the United States contend that current concepts of merit are invalid even as
applied to whites.21 According to Derrick Bell for example, the standards used
to evaluate employment and educational qualifications “are often irrelevant or
of little importance and therefore serve mainly as barriers to most minorities
and a great many whites as well”. In India, supporters of reservation argue that
you cannot say that backward classes lack merit or that efficiency can be
measured in terms of marks a person gets in tests and exams. Recently some
have even argued that to the extent that standards have been diluted through
appointments made on the basis of kinship and other ties (in other words,
corruption) rather than appointments based on objective merit criteria, it is a
farce to say that reservations in any way destroy merit in India. They point out
that there are so many hidden reservations in appointments that it is
hypocritical to oppose the official reservation policy.22
Affirmative action by definition changes the mix of people within any
organizational setting. It is premised on the merit principle but is also driven by
the idea that a representative bureaucracy or workforce is a better workforce.
There is a long- standing and fundamental tug of war between the
homogenizing impact and practices of the state – unity in diversity- versus
groups asserting themselves as distinct cultural and political entities. 23 Western
countries like Canada which grew monoculturalism as a concept enshrined in
the idea of a neutral bureaucracy have increasingly had to work with diversity
in response to changing demographics particularly in the latter part of the 20 th
century. For the Canadian federal government, the concept of representative
bureaucracy has become a means to manage diversity.24
But Canada’s tug of war with diversity started long before this. Along with
native peoples, French and English settlers are seen to be two of the three
founding races of Canada. In the British North America Act (The act of the
British Parliament which gave birth to Canada), the French language was
guaranteed a place in parliament and in federal courts. But government
services were largely unavailable in French and English was the mandatory
language of the civil service. By 1960, illiteracy among Francophones was
double the national average and their incomes were substantially lower than
non-French citizens. Wanting to be masters in their own house, the Frenchspeaking people of Quebec and their leaders led a quiet revolution to redress
their second class status in Canada. As a result, in 1963 a Royal Commission was
launched on bilingualism and biculturalism, which had far-reaching effects. Its
21
Duncan Kennedy, ‘A Cultural Pluralist Case for Affirmative Action in Legal Academia’, 1990,
Duke Law Journal at 710 as cited in Rai, ibid.
22
Anirudh Prasad, Reservational Justice to Other Backward Classes (Deep and Deep
Publications, 1997), 112 cited in Rai, ibid.
23
Yakin Eturk, The Challenge of Governance: Ensuring the Human Rights of Women and the
Respect for Cultural Diversity, United Nations, May 2001
24
O.P. Dwivedi, The Challenge of Cultural Diversity for Good Governance, United Nations, May
2001
9

10. work led to a national consensus on bilingualism and the passage of the Official
Languages Act of 1969. The key success factors were:



The political mobilization of Francophones in Quebec and to a lesser
extent in other provinces
The leadership of a new generation of French-Canadian politicians who
saw that the integration of the country was at stake and who translated
political will into legislation
The continuing support of many Canadian people who see bilingualism as
a defining aspect of being Canadian.
The Official Languages Act focused on three areas:



Language of service—French speaking citizens would be able to access
services in their own language wherever a sufficient population of
French speakers was concentrated
Equitable participation—French speaking citizens were entitled to
equitable opportunities for career advancement in the civil service
Language of work—Francophones had the right to work in their own
language in certain regions.
The key strategy was the naming of certain posts to be bilingual. Because
Francophones were more likely to be bilingual, this meant a sudden advantage
to them in access to jobs at all levels. The “disadvantage” to the primarily
unilingual Anglophone civil servants was balanced by a commitment to
language training for unilingual civil servants who were otherwise qualified for
these posts. What was agreed was that if an applicant was qualified in all ways
other than linguistically for a post, he or she could be hired and the
government would provide language training. This training, often up to a year
in length of full time study was paid for by the government.
Fifty years after the passage of the Official Languages Act, 75% of Canadians
support bilingualism even though only 17% of the population can speak both
languages. Since 1960, the number of bilingual Canadians has doubled.
Government services are available in both languages all over Canada. In the
network of 13,000 government service points, 4300 are designated as bilingual.
The percentage of French speaking employees in the civil service and crown
corporations are roughly equal to their proportion of the population. Twentyseven percent of the civil service is francophone; the management group is 25%
Francophone and bilingualism is required for senior management posts. It is
important to add however, that even though there has been considerable
success, various aspects of bilingualism policy and practice remain contentious
and bilingualism will always be a fault line in Canadian society.
10

11. The idea behind representative bureaucracy is that government should form a
microcosm of the society as a whole and that representatives from different
cultural groups can provide critical and often diverse perspectives to public
policy. This view holds that if a bureaucracy is broadly representative of the
public it serves, then it is more likely to make decisions that benefit that
public.25 The existing research distinguishes between passive and active
representation. Passive representation refers to how representative the
bureaucracy is of a larger population in terms of demographic characteristics26.
In contrast, active representation is defined as bureaucrats advocating for their
constituents’ interests and making policy decisions that systematically benefit
one group or another among the agency’s clientele.
Critics of representative bureaucracy decry such moves as parochial, believing
that it leads to a dilution of quality, promotion of less qualified minorities
which in turn lead to lower public service accountability. In a traditional
Western public administration emerging out of scientific management
principles, merit (including an individual’s educational qualifications and
training as well as their ability to develop new skills as required) is a
foundation principle to control patronage and political interference and is
meant to ensure that public servants would not engage in partisan work. In
practice, most merit based public systems in the developing world have
enshrined elitism and male dominance and churned out public servants who
have little experience of development and an inadequate sense of
accountability to disadvantaged citizens. Experience from many places seems
to indicate that representative bureaucracy does not lead to weak
accountability; in fact with appropriate changes in administrative culture, the
reverse is true. 27For example, in a comprehensive review of affirmative action
policies in South Asia, DL Sheth concludes that in India “despite tardy and often
even dishonest implementation for over fifty years the policy of reservations
has worked reasonably well. It in fact can claim some significant achievements,
not only for the beneficiary groups of SCs, STs and OBCs, but for the whole
nation”.28 Sheth points out that the scheduled quotas still remain unfilled at
higher levels of government jobs, and the attainment of benefits such as
attainment of minimum educational levels, remains very low among several
smaller communities comprising the SC, ST and OBC categories. Also, other
25
Thielemann, Gregory S. and Joseph Stewart, Jr. 1996. "A Demand Side Perspective on the
Importance of Representative Bureaucracy." Public Administration Review 56 (March/April):
168-73.
26
Frederick Mosher. Democracy and the Public Service. New York: Oxford University Press,
1968.
27
Op. cit., Dwivedi, 2001
28
UNDP Human Development Report Office, Occasional Paper, DL Sheth, Caste, Ethnicity and
Exclusion in South Asia: The Role of Affirmative Action Policies in Building Inclusive Societies.
Background Paper for Human Development Report 2004.
11

12. enabling measures which are necessary to compliment reservations are far from
adequate. But nevertheless, “by providing a concrete basis to their mobility
aspirations, [reservations have] induced them to achieve higher levels of
literacy and living standards”. In the South and West Indian states where the
policy has been more efficiently implemented, educational and occupational
profiles of SCs and OBCs have shown much greater improvement.
First, Reservations have changed the nature and composition of the Indian middle-class, making it
more inclusive. At Independence, it was a small caste-like social formation. Its membership almost
entirely consisted of the English-educated, urban sections of the dvija castes. Today, thanks to
Reservations, members of ‘lower castes’ have been able to enter the middle-class in significant
numbers. A recent CSDS study shows that a sizeable section of India’s middle-class consists of the
second and third generation beneficiaries of Reservations.
Second, fifty years ago dalits, tribals and OBCs could aspire only to a limited degree of upward
mobility and that too as collectivities functioning within the caste structure. Today, with Reservations
opening for them gates of the middle-class, not only the incidence of their upward mobility has
increased, but for achieving it they have not to depend on ritualistic modes sanctioned by the caste
system, such as sanskritization. This changed pattern of social mobility—a larger number of individual
members of ‘lower castes’ acquiring middle-class identity—has deeply shaken the economic and
cultural roots of the caste system. For, ‘middle-class’ identity is no longer perceived in ritual status
terms; computerization rather than sanskritization has become a middle-class marker.
Third, working for over fifty years Reservations have made cumulative and lasting impact on India’s
political system. With educational and occupational opportunities provided by Reservations a new
political leadership has emerged from among the SCs, STs and OBCs. For example, the very origin and
growth of the powerful dalit-based party in the north of India, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) lay in
the formation of a trade-union like association of the dalit and the backward class Government
employees. In the course of about five decades of Reservations the entire structure of political power
in almost all the states and lately at the national level has changed. The established pattern of the
upper caste English educated elite rule has changed. In almost all provincial states of India the OBCs
and members of the other beneficiary categories of affirmative action are now occupying important
power positions in Government and, of course, at a relatively much less important levels in the
bureaucracy.
Reservations have made a significant impact for individuals of the beneficiary categories. The most
crucial impact is that education has become a social and cultural value for the members of all the
beneficiary categories. They now see education as an accessible means for them to individually
attaining modernity and social mobility. Some of them having entered the middle class now, unlike
their parents, go great lengths to educate their children so that they can receive benefits of
reservation and are able to stay in the growing, competitive Indian middle class. Having entered the
middle class not only has their lifestyle changed, they now redefine the conventional, caste-like
culture of the middle class, increasingly in non-ritual status terms. Even for many non-educated, but of
the aspirant generation, alcoholism is on the wane and savings are increasing. This expansion of
opportunities has enabled members of these communities to attain, in greater numbers than before,
high professional stature and positions of power. As in the case of every other upwardly mobile
community, this has created an upper crust whose members are expected not only to serve as a role
model but also provide a protective device, a ‘spearhead’ for their people to enter the system.
Successful individuals always had a role model impact, but now with large enough number from among
these groups having entered the power structure, they have been able to install protective mechanisms
within the bureaucracy and political parties, facilitating entry of their compatriots in the power
structure.
D.L. Sheth, Ethnicity and Exclusion in South Asia: The Role of Affirmative Action Policies in Building
Inclusive Societies, 2004
12

13. Similar to the belief in representative bureaucracy is the belief in “descriptive
representation” now gaining increasing currency in understandings of political
equality. Descriptive representation means that the political representatives of
a constituency themselves resemble that constituency in terms of their person,
background, and experiences. The right to be present in political office has
become part of the definition of political equality where previously the equal
right to vote and stand for office defined it. As Htun points out, “a legislature
that fails to descriptively represent the citizenry is believed to violate the
principles of political equality by not offering equal representational rights to
all and therefore to be undemocratic.”
However,several
studies in diversity
and equality in the
civil service argue
that numbers are
not enough and the
key to success is
sustainable change
in organizational
dynamics
particularly
culture. The Nepali
Ministry of General
Administration for
example, points
out that gender
mainstreaming is an organizational issue depending on a range of institutional
factors including organizational culture, power dynamics, how resources are
allocated, and unofficial as well as official realities.29 The UK Government’s
Advisory Panel on Equal Opportunities in the senior civil service reported that
despite various initiatives, progress was slow because “such initiatives have
tended not to be an integral part of mainstream management and personnel
practice.” 30 Similarly, analyzing gender mainstreaming, we have argued that it
has been reluctantly adopted by agencies whose top leadership has not
adequately supported this agenda and in organizational contexts where there
are few mechanisms and ways to balance or restrain the power of those at the
top. Thus it has been easier to adopt an approach that simply “adds women”
to the existing configuration without questioning basic assumptions, strategic
objectives, or ways of working.31 Where affirmative action or diversity
Why did the “descriptive representation” of citizens come to
be taken as an indicator of political equality? First, the rise of
the feminist movement activated gender as a politically
salient social identity, and movements for multiculturalism
and group rights activated ethnic, cultural and racial
identities as deserving of political representation. Next,
deliberative democratic theory stressed the need for
representatives to share experiences with their constituents
in order adequately to communicate citizen views in openended political deliberation (as opposed to bargaining and
interest aggregation). Finally, in the post-socialist era, claims
for social justice have come to focus on the importance of
recognition as much as redistribution. Equality of conditions
to develop an affirming sense of personal and collective
identity, including the presence of group members in power,
has thus become an issue of social justice.
Mala Htun, Using Gender Quotas to Increase
Women’s Representation in Politics
29
S.P. Mainali, Balancing Gender in the Nepalese Context, January 2004, p.2
UK Government, Ministry of Home Affairs, 1995 cited in Randhir Auluck, The Management of
Diversity: The UK Civil Service Journey Continues, United Nations, May 2001
31
Aruna Rao and David Kelleher, Institutions, Organizations and Gender Equality in an Era of
Globalisation” Gender and Development, Oxfam UKI, 2003.
30
13

14. initiatives are an add-on and not integrally connected to the work of the
organization and to larger reform processes aimed at more efficient functioning
and effective governance, they will die a slow death and generate a good deal
of opposition and resentment in the process. To be effective, affirmative
action initiatives need a rationale which is connected to the core business of
the organization and ways of evaluating progress.
There are many important ingredients for making change happen and they
include compelling leadership, learning by doing and modeling good practice,
consistent and constant communication, and good accountability mechanisms
and practices. The World Bank Public Sector Strategy suggests that there are
three promising entry points for reform: public expenditure accountability;
decentralization of the public sector bringing services down to citizens and
empowering community based organizations; and e-government which is a
powerful tool to help foster transparency and accountability. What is
important in this set of strategies (and applicable to change strategies in
general) is balancing social inclusion processes or top-down reforms with
empowerment processes or bottom-up accountability. In other words, social
inclusion processes that open up opportunities for hitherto excluded groups to
participate need to connect with efforts by those groups to voice their
priorities and influence decision making processes. But this is a tall order
involving complex social dynamics. Change needs to start with concrete doable
steps. This is more likely to lead to “small wins” or incremental changes aimed
at changing biases so entrenched in the system that they are not even noticed
until they are gone and generating a demand for reform through programs that
facilitate greater accountability and encourage citizen voice. According to
Myerson and Fletcher whose research focuses on shattering the glass ceiling for
women in American corporations, a small wins strategy is a powerful way of
chipping away at the barriers that hold women back without engendering
backlash. It creates change through diagnosis, dialogue, and experimentation
and usually improves efficiency and performance and benefits both women and
men. 32
Affirmative Action in the Nepalese Context: Affirmative action in Nepal
today is being discussed in relation to three spheres of activity -- political
bodies; the education, employment and health sectors; and the civil service –
and three groups -- women, janajatis (ethnic minorities) and dalits. These
debates are occurring within a larger national crisis of governance. Until very
recently Nepal was led by a coalition government at odds with an increasingly
prominent Maoist insurgency; street protests and calls for a constituent
assembly and a new constitution; calls for political reform including party
reform; discussions of a federal structure of government as well as autonomous
32
Deborah E. Myerson and Joyce K. Fletcher, A Modest Manifesto for Shattering the Glass
Ceiling", Harvard Business Review January-February 2000 pp. 127-136
14

15. regional areas; greater ‘ethnicization’33 of politics; administrative
decentralization and a shrinking public sector; and an interventionist but
unpredictable monarchy that is in control of the country’s armed forces. In
February 2005, Nepal's King Gyanendra sacked Prime Minister Sher Bahadur
Deuba's government for the second time in just over two years, took full
control of the state power, and declared a state of emergency. On March 28th,
a large-scale demonstration was held outside the Central Secretariat in
Kathmandu, the first since the King dismissed the government.
The subjugation of ethnic minorities in Nepal has a long history; it was only in
the second half of the nineteenth century for example, that certain ethnic
groups were freed from the threat of enslavement. Unlike in India, to this day,
untouchability has not been officially ‘abolished’ in Nepal. Over the course of
centuries, high caste, capital-centered Hindu elites achieved dominance over
strategic resources including political power, land and other economic
resources and depleted the periphery where the ethnic minorities
predominated. They also shaped ritual and symbolic values in ways that
designated non-Hindu elite cultures as inferior and perpetuated untouchability
denying dalits access to their sacred and secular places. The consequences of
this hegemony are playing out in the uneven field of political competition
today.
After the overthrow of the
Panchayat system, the 1990
Constitution for the first time
recognized the multi-ethnic
nature of Nepalese society and
guaranteed all citizens
equality. (This had been
guaranteed in the 1963
constitution but not with such
specific reference to ethnicity,
religion, caste, etc.) It
stipulates that through the
enactment of special laws, the
state can institute special measures for socially and economically “backward”
groups. The constitutional provisions for the equality of women are longer
standing and more specific. Article 11 (3) of the constitution allows for special
provisions that may be enacted for the advancement of women. Moreover, the
CEDAW Convention which has been ratified by Nepal obligates the government
The capacity to dominate the state opens up a
variety of options: channeling resources to
preferred groups and regions, providing
employment and, last but by no means least,
acquiring legitimacy through claiming the focal
role in societal progress. The ability to
selectively distribute contracts and licenses or
provide infrastructure enhances, in turn, the
ability to mobilize lasting political support. The
more those in power grant privileges to their
own ethnic brethren as clients, the more likely it
is that a direct competition among ethnic blocks
will ensue.
Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka
33
According to Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka, “ethnicization of politics” connects specific notions of
culture to political mobilization. “Ethnicization occurs when ethnic groups emerge as collective
political agents.” (Debating the State of the Nation: Ethnicization of Politics in Nepal – A
Position Paper, in Ethnic Futures: The State and Identity Politics in Asia edited by Joanna PfaffCzarnecka et.al., missing publication place and date. I can fill in Lynn pls do
15

16. to implement temporary special measures to achieve de facto equality
between men and women. A study conducted by the Forum for Women Law and
Development in Kathmandu has identified 150 legal provisions that have been
enacted with the objective of women’s advancement.34 (we will cross
reference chapter 12 here which is being written by Sapana for FWLD)
Affirmative Action in Civil Service: Affirmative action constitutes one part of
the HMGN’s Governance Reform Program which broadly aims to make the civil
service more effective and efficient in delivering services and benefits,
corruption-free, more accountable and transparent, and more representative
of the population as a whole. The history of civil service reform globally is a
long one and in many countries in the South it is closely intertwined with
changing administrative structures and systems placed there by colonial
regimes. Even in those few countries like Nepal which have not endured
colonialism, such governance structures have typically been built on a
foundation of institutional rules that have privileged some and excluded many,
resulting in skewed access to assets, capabilities, voice and influence. The
affirmative action goals of HMG/N’s governance reform program (GRP) are
aimed specifically at increasing the representation of women, Dalits and
Janajatis in the civil service and in policy decision making more broadly.
Nepali women are almost invisible in the civil service making up only 8% of
overall staff and 4% of officers. The initial ADB support for affirmative action in
GRP was focused on women, as was UNDP’s support for affirmative action in
the civil service through its Mainstreaming Gender Equity Program.
However, Dalits are highly disadvantaged as are some but not all Janajati
groups. In all three cases, the disadvantage relates to resources and power.
The issue is less about individual differences that affect performance of tasks
and the conduct of relationships, and more about groups of people who have
been systematically denied access to resources and opportunities. This
fundamental issue of inequality is acknowledged by the Nepali Ministry of
General Administration (MOGA) which in a recent paper states that
“achievement of gender justice is not possible if other forms of social injustice
continue”, and calls for a “holistic approach” to the problem.35
Pressed by Maoist on the one hand who have placed the rights of disadvantages
group at the center of their demands and pressure from civil society groups and
donors for greater democratization and justice on the other, the government in
early 2004 set up a high level Reservations Committee headed by the former
Finance Minister to generate recommendations to the Prime Minster in the
following areas: reservation in political bodies, in the education, employment
and health sectors, and civil service; revisions in the structure of political
bodies; and current issues of decentralization, federalism, local autonomy and
34
Forum for Women, Law and Development, Special Measures for Women and Their Impact,
Kathmandu, April 2003
35
S.P. Mainali, op. cit., p.2
16

17. preservation of “endangered” ethnic traditions as a criterion for reservation.
The work of the main committee was supplemented by four sub-committees
but the main committee was dissolved in July 2004 before it could formally
submit its final report. Each subcommittee developed its own recommendations
and worked with a different reservation formula. Some focused primarily on
the number issue and others such as the dalit committee went much further in
their recommendations to include distribution of state assets at the district
level and land distribution; recommendations on reservations in the private
sector including international NGOs and bilateral agencies; representation in
political bodies and a change to proportional representation; representation of
dalits in the Election Commission, and civil service; penalties for noncompliance by implementation agencies; strengthening the Dalit Commission;
and establishment of an employment equity commission.
Women’s Participation: On the issue of women’s participation in the civil
service, considerable work has been done in the last few years developing
credible proposals for effective affirmative action interventions. They include
studies and proposals from, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the
Mainstreaming Gender Equity Program of the UNDP (MGEP-UNDP), the Ministry
of General Administration, the World Bank and the Planning Commission (see
Annex A: Analysis Matrix). The MoGA36, ADB and MGEP-UNDP all support
increasing the percentage of women in the civil service though there is some
variation over the issue of reservations for women (whereby certain seats
would be “reserved” only for women) and numerical targets to be achieved in
hiring and promotion of women across the civil service. But little background
work has been done to document the size of the current qualified available
pool of women who could be recruited to meet these targets although some
work is planned on this issue by the Planning Commission.
The MoGA, ADB and MGEP-UNDP proposals all suggest revising the civil service
examination and curriculum37. In addition, the World Bank supports a review of
the exam to ascertain biases against women, Dalits and Janajatis. There are
several prevailing views on this issue. One that has already been tried without
much success is to provide coaching to women who wish to take the exam. A
second approach is to revise the entry gate (exam – especially with respect to
the highly Sanskritic Nepali that is used and expected , curriculum, and
selection process) in order to make it more possible for women and other
disadvantaged groups to gain entry. The third is to examine and revise the
36
The “Roadmap” was announced by the government and publicized in the newspapers in
December 2003
37
In response to many complaints over the years, in November 2000, the Nepali Public Service
Commission publicly announced that it was going to revise the syllabus for civil service exam to
make it more practical and analytical.
17

18. entry gate in a way that searches for and allows in people with the kinds of
qualifications and skills that are required by an effective, efficient and
accountable civil service. The first would not alter the entry gate but would
coach hitherto excluded groups to compete better; the latter would overhaul
the system so that it is attracting the kinds of people – men and women with
diverse backgrounds, skills and experience – that a reformed civil service
requires. MoGA supports limited exam and curriculum reform and there is some
discussion within the Public Service Commission about the issue of making the
exam system more “gender-friendly” -- a term that is used but not clearly
defined. Our understanding is that it might include shifting to a more
commonly spoken form of Nepali as well as offering the entrance exam in other
languages spoken in Nepal; not requiring memorization of the vast number of
government laws/rules/regulations normally required (this is deemed difficult
for women because their household responsibilities do not allow them
sufficient time to memorize all); and possibly requiring a lower pass grade for
women. In contrast, both the ADB and MGEP proposals advocate a more
comprehensive revision of the entry gate requirements and some in
government also support the idea of deeper reforms.
None of these proposals make an explicit connection between affirmative
action and better public administration and governance. Though both and ADB
and World Bank programs are advocating for a far more comprehensive reform
of the civil service that includes a clearer distinction between the roles of the
political and administrative in matters such as transfers and promotions and
also the establishment of separate civil service administration for employees of
decentralized local government, the affirmative action piece has been
relegated to a political space justified by equity concerns. In contrast, the
experience globally suggests that for affirmative action to stick in the long
term, it must be intimately connected to more effective and efficient
functioning of the public administration.
The MoGA Roadmap and the ADB and MGEP documents propose a variety of
steps to make the workplace more “women-friendly”. Some of these like
putting toilets for women in workplaces are quite straightforward. Others,
however, that require changes in attitudes and in the way in which power
relationships are played out across gender and hierarchies, will require many
innovations and learning by doing. The government proposals belie a tendency
to look for quick, short-term solutions whereas in fact, organizational cultural
change which is central to the success of this effort is long-term, and
incremental. The actors involved will need to prepare a long-term plan with
short-term deliverables and ways to measure performance on the more
complicated issues of organizational systems and cultural change. MoGA’s Road
Map does not include any proposals on accountability but both the ADB and
MGEP do. The development of tools and indicators to monitor institutional
performance and governance improvements on the ground would enhance
18

19. transparency and encourage greater citizen trust in government and
governance.
The Current State of Play: There is still a fair amount of divergence on what
constitutes affirmative action: most believe it means quotas but some equate
quotas with reservations. Still others believe it refers to building capacities and
training. But the discourse is overly focused on the issue of reservations as a
tool to remedy discrimination. None of the groups who are trying to get into
the system are challenging the need for reservations in the first place or
whether they would work better in some arenas (e.g. political bodies) and less
well in others (e.g. civil service or private sector). They are however, clear
that reservations primarily affect entry into a system and that changing the
mindset and informal culture of the whole system will take a long time. They
see this as a problem that lateral entry only partially solves.
While reservations are on everyone’s minds, there is disagreement on the basis
for reservations. One proposal on the table is to base reservations on a Human
Development Index (HDI). One effort to do this was made by members of the
Reservation Committee 38and another was carried out by the GSEA team39
based on the 2001 Census data. Most agree however, that this data base is not
adequate for the construction of an empirical basis for reservations in the way
that the Committee had hoped. The problems with the census data include: it
does not contain data on income or consumption and the data on assets are
only indicative, the data on health status is also not ideal; further, according to
some dalit activists, the Census under enumerates the dalit population in the
country.
Currently, the formula for reservations circulating in the halls of the
bureaucracy is for 20% reservations for women; 10% for janajatis and 5% for
dalits40 or a 35 % reservation without these breakdowns specified for the three
groups concerned. However, a recent Draft Local Services Act that lays out
the ground rules of the establishment of a local civil service serving
decentralized agencies specifies 20% reservations for women, 10% for Dalits and
10% for Janajatis. Although a consensus seems to be emerging, it has not yet
been agreed upon.
But the real story is that reservations face significant hurdles ahead on many
fronts. At the broadest level, senior bureaucrats voice concerns about the
potential of reservations to dilute the meritocracy principle of entrance into
the civil service and therefore the efficiency of the service as a whole. Some
also believe that while representation in decision-making should be more broad
based, politics and not the civil service is the appropriate place for this.
Whether this position is genuinely believed or is put forward by elites as a ploy
38
This work was lead by Dr. Bal Gopal Baidya
The results of this work, lead by Meena Acharya is reported in Chapter 4.
40
These would apply to vacancies only.
39
19

20. to weaken efforts towards greater “inclusion” and accountability in order to
maintain their control, matters little to the end result: opposition to
reservations within the bureaucracy is pervasive and high. Those who genuinely
believe that reservations are good for the civil service are in a distinct minority
and even they are more likely to support women’s greater inclusion in the
bureaucracy than increased representation by janajatis and dalits. For Janajati
and Dalit groups, the concessions that are being hotly debated among those in
power are seen as “peanuts” – far less than what they expect and are
demanding.
For women, janajati and dalit activists, making the bureaucracy more
representative is an end in itself as well as a means for a more egalitarian of
distribution of state controlled resources. This assumes that representatives of
these groups would advocate on behalf of those groups in the larger polity. In
contrast, those who advocate for an ‘efficient’ though ‘neutral’ civil service in
the Weberian sense, oppose this kind of politicization of bureaucracy (ignoring
the fact that historically those in power have always manipulated state
resources to stay in power). At the same time, the notion that a group’s
interests can only be adequately articulated and lobbied for by a member of
that group (which is how these three disadvantaged groups in the Nepal context
see it) is questioned by others. Will those who get into the bureaucracy do
anything beneficial for the larger group or are they in it simply for their own
aggrandizement? The so called “creamy layer” of elite dalits who have
benefited from reservations in India, but done little to improve the conditions
for their group, is often cited. This is a clear ‘damned-if-you-do’ and ‘damnedif-you-don’t’ argument that is currently circulating in the halls of the
bureaucracy.
At an institutional level, reservations face considerable challenges as well.
Under present conditions with no parliament in place, proposals must be passed
in the form of acts or ordinances which have a 6-month life after which they
must be extended or else dissolve. A proposal for reservations in the civil
service must be drafted by the Ministry of General Administration as an
amendment to the Civil Service Act and presented to Cabinet for approval
which in turn refers it to the Ministry of Law and Justice for approval and then
it goes back to Cabinet. Any amendment to the Civil Service Act also requires
the consent of the Public Service Commission. Once Cabinet approves the
amendment, it goes to the King for royal seal. However, reservations are not
the only issue awaiting a decision. One rumor is that approximately 50 other
issues are waiting for approval by the Ministry of Law and Justice. In the
meantime the proposal may be challenged in the courts. (See Chapter 12) This
is clearly not the best avenue for enacting legislation and some of the powerful
ministries would rather wait for parliament to be reinstated through fresh
elections and for the legislative process to take its normal course. That, of
course, could take some time.
20

21. Even if the amendment goes through these hurdles, how will it be
implemented? Change will require a complex mixture of political and senior
management commitment, the communication of that commitment, pressure
for results, as well as negotiation and dialogue. It will also require support for
learning and capacity building – both for the new entrants and for those already
in the system who may need to un-learn certain behaviors and assumptions.
The process needs to focus on numbers, human resources systems such as
recruitment, testing, hiring, training, mentoring, and promotions and cultural
change. The change process is not linear and sequential. It is a continuing
process without a clear beginning or end. Rather than a clear sequence of
logically ordered tasks, it is more like an array of tasks and activities set in
motion in various parts of the organization as change agents respond to events,
are able to secure resources, information and legitimacy. The diagram below is
an effort to show the cyclical and nature of the process41.
41
This framework is an adaptation of the work of Kelleher, McLaren and Bisson, Grabbing the
Tiger by the Tail, Canadian Council for International Co-operation, 1996 and Agnocs, Burr and
Somerset, Employment Equity: Co-operative Strategies for Organizational Change, Prentice
Hall, 1992.
21

22. The process begins with a confluence of pressure, support and capacity for
change. This energy needs to be translated into three streams of movement:
Building Clarity, Building Support and Taking Action. At the beginning, the
Building Clarity track needs to be focused on an overview plan. In this case,
the plan should include: getting more specific about how the target can be
met, what is the availability of skilled labor, what strategies are possible, and
what makes sense in the Nepali context. Building support needs to focus on
developing the stakeholder group, ensuring political action and building
accountability mechanisms. The broader support and the increased specificity
will make pilot projects possible. These pilot projects will allow for internal
learning and help develop greater specificity about what needs to be done as
well as deepening the support for the effort. All of this must benefit from
continued pressure to change along with sufficient capacity. It is a cyclical
process which requires pressure and accountability, learns from experience,
continually builds support and is focused on action.
The table below shows, in a more linear way, possible early stages of the
change process for affirmative action in Nepal.
22

23. Start-up/Gestation
Building
Clarity
Early
Implementation
Wider
Implementation
Research studies: labor
market, position
availability, interest of
women, dalits and
janajatis in the public
service, organizational
culture, the experience
of excluded groups.
Pilot Ministries develop
affirmative action
targets and strategies
Develop wider
implementation
plans
Building knowledge
regarding the
international
experience, the
affirmative action
continuum, change
leadership, resistance,
questions of
meritocracy, cultural
change and HR
systems.
Monitor and report on
work in Ministries
Develop central
database of successful
and less than successful
practices
Develop an inclusive
examination system
that is congruent with
larger civil service
reform efforts.
A focus for this learning
could be the existing
Gender Focal Points in
each line Ministry. A
team of two from each
Ministry can be given
the broader task of
looking for constraints
and opportunities for
dalit, janajati and
women’s inclusion both
in staffing of a given
ministry and in the
public services
delivered by that
ministry, i.e. This team
could be responsible
for the quality of the
client interface with
these groups.
Beginning the design of
a state of the art
examination system
that is not biased
against Dalits, Janajatis
23

24. Start-up/Gestation
Early
Implementation
Wider
Implementation
Training to build
awareness
Publicize success
Reward success
or women and that
seeks out the skills
needed by a
contemporary civil
service that wants to
become more
responsive to citizens.
Building
Support
Taking
Action
Developing an
implementation
strategy: pilot
ministries, affirmative
action enablers,
measurement, and
budgets.
Political leadership—
legislation and
accountability
Building a network of
committed
stakeholders
Developing
accountability
mechanisms to
stakeholder groups
Publicize top
management support
Pilot projects
Living the vision
Building relationships
with stakeholder
groups
Build central support
team including external
consulting help
Build Ministry change
teams
Regular reporting to
high level team and
political level
Begin work in selected
Ministries
Broaden
implementation—
expand ministries
and districts
Early work needs to focus on:

Discussions with MoGA and other affected ministries regarding their
willingness to be involved in a process of implementing affirmative
action which includes: the involvement of a stakeholder group,
accountability to groups outside the bureaucracy as well as to a high
level group within the government, building and deployment of gender
focal point teams to diagnose the inclusion challenges in staffing and
services, and the involvement of international consultants at the design
overview stage.
24

25. 
A knowledge building process that focuses on such questions as: what is
the turnover rate at various levels, how many positions will open up as a
result of turnover and new positions being created? What is the nature
of the labor market that might fill positions at different levels with
Dalits, Janajatis or women? What is the interest of these groups in
government careers? (This would also serve as a baseline for later
monitoring). What are the various strategy options open to the
government? One way of seeing these options is “The Affirmative
Action Continuum” in which we look at a range of strategies from the
most aggressive (such as that used in some American cities-- if a
department is not meeting its targets it must hire one person in a target
group for every two positions filled) to softer efforts such as making it
easier for women or Dalits, Janajatis to access the system as it is.

Political and senior bureaucratic action to specify the directions and
targets and to develop accountability mechanisms.

A “business case” which develops an understanding of how greater
diversity will result in better services to citizens.
This is just the beginning of a change process, which if it is to be successful,
will unfold over years42, involve hundreds if not thousands of people and
require change at the personal, organizational and political levels.
Affirmative Action in Politics: Much of what happens in the bureaucracy
hinges on what happens in the broader political landscape of Nepal. Janajati
and Dalit groups in addition to many other political and civil society groups are
interested in a new constituent assembly charged with rewriting the
constitution. In addition, Janajati and Dalit groups are interested in a federal
structure of governance with the redrawing of some districts which would
institute a fair amount of regional autonomy through regional assemblies and
control over finances and the distribution of development resources in such
areas as education. The issue of a constituent assembly (which can come into
force in a number of ways – through appointment or election) and the rewriting
of the constitution however is deadlocked between a variety of competing
interests – the Maoists are interested in establishing Nepal as a republic with no
monarchy which is not favored by the Palace and the political parties need the
King’s support to go ahead with elections. Will need to rewrite this – it is much
more complex than this –especially now. Take a look at Pratyoush’s chapter
and some of the background stuff I am sending. But message is ok. Lynn can
you pls rewrite as needed At stake are the system of government, processes of
governance and control over both. Currently two much debated topics are a
42
For example, after a generation of effort, in 1990, women and minorities made up less than
11% and 8% respectively of the executive grades of American Federal Civil Service.
(Golembiewski, R., Managing Diversity in Organizations, University of Alabama Press, 1995.
25

26. proportional representation system and reform of political parties though
neither are supported by the political parties themselves. Critical analysts
believe that the former without the latter will yield few gains for the
representation of disadvantaged groups in politics because it will leave the
selection of candidates in the hands of the parties’ central committees which
have historically subordinated the interests and voices of ethnic and other
marginalized groups to those of the Parbatiya and Newar.
The key role of political will and effective lobbying for the interests of
marginalized groups and its effect in bureaucratic functioning is illustrated by
the case of bilingualism in Canada (See Annex C for details).
Conclusion: Affirmative action as a lever for social inclusion in a larger process
of change is a necessary but not sufficient intervention in bringing about
significant and sustainable positive outcomes for socially marginalized groups.
Greater representation of hitherto excluded groups in a the political process
and bureaucracy can be a stepping stone to structuring of opportunities and
incentives that helps those voices and interests gain influence in policy decision
making and positive discrimination interventions that help to better distribute
material goods and services. But to be effective and sustainable, affirmative
action requires a broader commitment to equality and human rights as
articulated by a country’s constitution, laws and policies.
Within the bureaucracy, affirmative action is a long, hard process which only
begins once the policy and institutional frameworks are in place. Affirmative
action is both a political and an organizational change problem. Political
action imposing an affirmative action program and a set of targets without an
organizational change process will result in a policy and little action.
Organizational change without political involvement maintains the interests of
privileged groups and uncouples affirmative action from the larger question of
social exclusion.
At the end of the day, affirmative action must benefit those who most need
help. Paraphrasing Gandhi, we have to ask if the steps we are contemplating
will restore them to a control over their life and destiny.
26

27. Annex A: Affirmative Action: The South Africa Example
Affirmative action in the public service in South Africa is happening within a
broad transformational context. The coming to power of the ANC in 1994
began a process of political, economic and social change designed to right the
wrongs of the South Africa’s apartheid history and to bring South Africa into the
family of nations as a modern, equitable state. The largely peaceful transition
to democracy has been hailed as a miracle with the accompanying
expectations.
Ten years after the first democratic election, there is much debate as to
whether the “miracle” is actually happening.
We do know that South Africa has:





Adopted a new constitution (perhaps the most progressive in the world)
Set in place a constitutional court to protect and enforce the
constitution
Established institutions such as The Human Rights Commission,
Independent Electoral Commission, The Employment Equity Commission
and others
Elected close to 30% of women to the Parliament
Diversified the senior levels of the public service so that by 1999, 57% of
senior managers were black43.
In more concrete terms it has brought clean water to 9 million people,
electricity to 2 million. It has integrated 30,000 schools as well as the
countries universities and brought free health care to millions of children 44.
From all this, it is clear that the state can act for social transformation but it is
also clear that its capacity to act is also limited.
Since 1994 the wealth gap between rich and poor has widened, poverty
continues at near historic levels and whites continue to dominate business and
the economy. Some of the issues include:



Black economic empowerment is criticized as concentrating wealth in
the hands of a few black entrepreneurs
Many whites resist the changes and hold on to privilege
Women parliamentarians find it hard to advance a women’s agenda as
they are submerged in conditions of party loyalty and cut off from their
previous sources of support
43
Fraser-Moloketi, op. cit.
Sparks, Allister, Beyond the Miracle: Inside the New South Africa, Johannesburg: Jonathan
Ball, 2003.
44
27

28. A major aspect of the transformation is equity in employment. A 1998 survey
found that white males (approximately 6% of the population) constituted 89% of
senior South African management. Even after 4 years of affirmative action
white people comprised 13% of the “economically active” yet they made up
76% of the most senior positions in business45.
The Employment Equity Act (EEA) was passed in 1998 and came into effect in
1999. Its purpose is to achieve equity in the workplace ,
"the purpose of the Act is to achieve equity in the workplace, by a)
promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through
the elimination of unfair discrimination; and b) implementing
affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in
employment experienced by designated groups, to ensure their
equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the
workforce46”.
The onus is on all employers of more than 50 people to ensure that black
people47, women and disabled people are fairly represented in the workforce
and that they have equal opportunities to compete for and advance in jobs.
This means also the identification and elimination of barriers to employment,
taking special measures to retain and train people (including preferential
treatment and numerical targets). Perhaps the most controversial is the
provision that a person can be hired who may not have the required skills but
could acquire them in a reasonable amount of time.
Employers are required to draw up an equity plan which spells out how the
organization will move toward employment equity given their particular
situation. They are required to report annually to the Employment Equity
Commission.
Results indicate that transformation of the workplace is a long-term
proposition. Some results from the most recent report48:



Not all employers bother to report. There was a 15% drop between 2002
and 2002 for example
The number of Black people in senior management remained low but has
grown slightly
Improvement in females’ representation at all levels was insignificant
although they had made some gains at senior levels.
45
Commission for Employment Equity, Annual Report, 2002-03.
www.labour.gc.za
47
Africans, Indians and “coloured” are classified as black.
48
Employment Equity Commission Annual Report 2002, www.labour.gov.za
46
28

29. The Public Service:
Employment Equity in the public service has been driven by the EEA as well as
a White Paper on Affirmative Action49.
The transformation of the public service was initiated in the belief that its
history of ineffectiveness, unfair discrimination and division on the basis of
race and gender meant that it lacked credibility and legitimacy in the eyes of
South Africans. One government minister said that the purpose of the previous
public service had been to ensure that resources did not reach black people 50.
The White Paper targets three groups: black people, women and people with
disabilities.
The goal of affirmative action in the public service is
“…to speed up the the creation of a representative and equitable public
service and to build an environment that supports and enables those
who have been historically disadvantaged by unfair discrimination to
fulfil their maximum potential within it so that the Public Service may
derive the maximum benefit of their diverse skills and talents to
improve service delivery51”.
The white paper makes the point that affirmative action means a fundamental
shift in administrative practice. It is seen as an essential tool for achieving the
organizations’ mission. Each department is responsible for developing and
implementing a programme in line with the White Paper and to ensure that it is
integrated into every aspect of management practices. The implementation of
the plan is the responsibility of all managers not just specialist units.
The mandatory requirements are:
1. Numeric targets—each department must set targets (short term as well
as longer term) that are aimed at achieving full demographic
representation within a specified time period. These targets are for the
3 designated groups in each occupational grouping.
2. Employee profile—each department must maintain a data base updated
annually on all employees broken down by gender, race and disability for
all levels and categories. Among other things it must show number of
employees recruited, promoted, and trained in the past 12 months in
each of the categories.
49
Affirmative Action in the Public service, Department of Public Service and Administration,
March 1998.
50
Fraser-Moloketi, op.cit.
51
www.labor.gc.za
29

30. 3. Affirmative action survey—An in-depth survey of staff needs and
perceptions regarding employment equity
4. Management Practices Review—A regular review of management
practices to determine whether any contribute to barriers to the
recruitment, retention, development and advancement of members of
the target groups. More broadly, it is intended to develop a culture of
respect for diversity.
5. Performance Management—implementation and demonstrable support
for employment equity is included in every employees performance
management criteria
6. Affirmative Action plan—a plan needs to be developed and adopted and
promoted that includes such things as objectives and targets, strategies
for achieving them, responsibility, financial resources required and
methods for resolving conflict.
7. Responsibilities—Responsibilities are clearly identified for each level in
management hierarchy
8. Policy statement—A policy statement is required which sets out the
business reasons for adopted affirmative action, the core values which
underpin affirmative action, strategies to be used and the expected
benefits.
The results are slow in coming although the most success has been at the top of
the hierarchy where political forces have the most impact. By 1999 57% of the
senior management cadre was Black (7% above the target). Interestingly only
21% of the same cadre was female (9% below target.)52
In the larger economy, the results are also sobering. Although there has been
some movement on race as blacks have moved slowly into management
positions, much less movement was made by women. Their numbers actually
decreased in professional and technical positions (the feeder jobs for
management). The Commission on Employment Equity concluded in its 2002
report that,
“…there is slow progress in the implementation of the of the
Employment Equity Act. [Although] it appears that momentum is
building as demonstrated by the increase in employment of Blacks (5.7%
in two years).”
What does the South Africa experience have to teach us?
1. South Africa has many positive factors for change—the national feeling of
riding a historical moment of transformation, the election of the
majority to positions of power, the many commitments to equality, the
constitution, the various institutions to safeguard and implement it, and
52
Fraser-Moloketi, op.cit.
30

31. 2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
resources to devote to guides, training, consultants, road shows,
consultations and advocacy.
Even in a society so committed to righting the wrongs of the past there
was tremendous resistance to Employment Equity and there continues to
be considerable “scholarly” and popular writing critical of the
Employment Equity enterprise.
The reach of the law is limited. The law can provide the framework and
promotion of employment equity but true implementation depends on a
shift in power relations in the country and a commitment at the
organizational level to cultural change and the transformation of
individual attitudes.
This scale of social change takes time. The Employment Equity Act was
proclaimed 4 years after the first democratic election. It came into
effect a year later in 1999. The first base line study was done in 2000,
in 2002 it is possible to see difficulties and begin to take remedial
action. The gains to date are small but significant.
Affirmative action risks capture by elite groups. For some in South
Africa, it is still a question whether affirmative action is challenging
racist and sexist power or is it simply diversifying the pool of people who
can occupy positions of class privilege.53
In this context at least, it seems that advances on race drive out change
for gender equity. Both in published material and in informal
discussions, it has been clear that transformation of gender relations
lags well behind that of race relations. For example even though women
make up approximately 30% of parliamentarians, they are kept at the
bottom of legislative hierarchies and are under-represented in executive
bodies.54
53
Msimang, S., Affirmative Action in the New South Africa: The Politics of Representation, Law
and Equity.
54
Hassim S., Representation, Participation and Democratic Effectiveness: Feminist Challenges
to Representative Democracy in South Africa in Goetz, A-M. and Hassim, S., No Shortcuts to
Power: African Women in Politics and Policy Making, London: Zed, 2003.
31

32. Annex B
(add another colum for the Local Service Act?) Lynn --I don’t have any information on this
Analysis Matrix: Proposed Approaches to Affirmative Action
MGEP- UNDP55
MoGA
Road Map
Main
Idea/Focus
Increase representation of
women, Dalits, Janajatis in
the civil service
Increase women’s
representation in decisionmaking positions in the civil
service
ADB
Cabinet to approve an affirmative action
policy and program
Focus on Women
World Bank
Support affirmative
action policy and
implementation
system
Focus on Women
Exclusive focus on Women
Targets,
reservations,
etc
20% of staff positions
reserved for women, 10% for
Dalits, 5% for ethnic groups –
need to ask Mukta to check if
the Janajati reservation has
gone to 10% as well.
Create one first class and
one second class gender
contact job in all ministries.
Permits lateral entry into
civil service for higher level
positions
Option 1: Women’s Quota:
25% all levels, promotion:
25% to class 2 and class 1
positions.
Option 2: Two merit lists(eg
women would compete only
against other women and
men against men for entry
and promotion) ; adjustment
of marks for service period
and work in regions
Focus on Dalits &
Janajatis as well as
women
Increase women in civil service by 33%
through policy reform
Create 25% positions in all center and field
offices all levels by 2010.
25% women as dept heads through
contract and lateral entry
National Planning
Commission56
Adopt affirmative
action policy and
programmes to
promote participation
of women, Dalits and
Janajatis
10th plan has provisions
for inclusion as part of
decentralization.
Dalits and Janajatis are
supposed to be on the
committee that
allocates resources.
Target number of women’s seats in the 8
service sectors in educational institutions
Ensure women’s rep on
constitutional bodies
Examinations,
Curriculum
Revise the civil service
curriculum to make it
‘gender friendly’
Coaching classes (for women
only in regions
55
56
Revise the syllabus: Class 3
officers, 2 papers: on
government and disciplines,
including gender studies.
Class 1 and 2, open
competition, 3 papers:
government, current
Affirmative action in exam system:
separate merit list etc.
PSC revise exam - make it more scientific
and objective;
Revise exam grading process—
Carry out review of
civil service exam to
assess possible
sources of bias
(women, Dalits and
Janajatis. (PRSC:
Medium Term Policy
Training provided to
women, Janajati and
Dalit graduates
Mainstreaming Gender Equity Program
Immediate Action Plan, Draft Progress Report, 2003/04.
32

33. MoGA
Road Map
Remove the age limit for
women to compete in
examinations
MGEP- UNDP55
ADB
policies, and discipline.
For internal and inter-service
competition, test problem
solving capacity.
Marking system: assess
personality and problem
solving
Establish regional exam
centers, change exam
timing,
allow responses in English
World Bank
National Planning
Commission56
Reform Matrix)
Test contextual and practical knowledge;
provide job specific training
Course curriculum include women’s
studies, gender issues
Training for women as preparation for
exams and promotion
Outreach, district women’s development
office involved
Info dissemination on lateral
entry
Capacity building for women
(coaching)
Women
Friendly
Environment
Family friendly—maternity
leave, flex time, complaint
management, child care
facilities
Post women as CDO, LDOs
and DGs
Family friendly—flex-time, maternity
leave, sexual harassment code, etc
Family friendly provisions,
day care, husband and wife
in same district, paternity
leave, increased maternity,
mourning leave, provision of
toilets in workplaces , etc
Toilets, day care, transparent work places,
etc
Employment
Conditions,
Promotion etc.
Conduct a study on
appointing only women as
WDOs and other similar
positions.
Regularize WDOs
Regularize WDOs through merit-based
exam system
Remote area experience reduced
Mandatory inclusion of
women in award program
each year.
Regularly assess promotion
opportunities
At least one woman
promoted to Secretary level
Non residential, 6 months on the job
training for women
Civil service awards
Pension adjustment
Priority for scholarship
Accountability
Gender audit gender audits
Organizational Gender audit—program,
33

34. MoGA
Road Map
MGEP- UNDP55
of policies, program benefits
to women
ADB
World Bank
National Planning
Commission56
goal and mission
Develop performance indicators re:
increase of women
Develop a performance management
system to include budget and program for
gender mainstreaming
Organizational
strengthening
for gender
equality
Mobilize tech assistance for
women’s empowerment in
the civil service
Gender mainstreaming
committee of secretaries
Establish a Gender Unit at
MoGA, other ministries
monitor gender issues in all
civil service
Generate and maintain data
base on women in civil
service
High level cross-ministerial committee to
monitor and encourage gender
mainstreaming
Representation of women compulsory on
constitutional bodies
Benefits and motivations for women
Workshop in
collaboration with
MOGA and other
donors on approaches
to affirmative action
(CAS)
Scholarship and intern
program (PRSC)
Establish a Women in Public Management
Institute; women's mentoring system
Senior position in MoGA to oversee gender
mainstreaming
Sensitization program for men and women;
involve NASC in gender sensitization
program
34

35. 35