The Nation - News from Dec. 29, 1988

More women have joined the work force but government-contract compliance policies to ensure affirmative action have had little to do with the increase, a University of California economist said. The Labor Department has used a “smoke and mirrors” approach to enforcement of affirmative action, particularly in the last eight years, Berkeley economist Jonathan S. Leonard said in a paper prepared for delivery at a meeting of the American Economic Assn. in New York City. Government examinations of contracting firms’ compliance have doubled since 1980, but they are “rubber stamp” reviews with virtually no serious enforcement, Leonard said.