Final answer:
The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s resulted in fair hiring practices ensuring non-discrimination based on personal attributes. This was largely due to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and organizations such as NOW that advocated for workplace equality. The movement's influence on affirmative action and equality remains a point of ongoing discussion.
Step-by-step explanation:
One of the most significant gains of the civil rights movement that occurred in the 1950s and 1960s was that hiring practices had to be fair and consider all qualified individuals, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, religion, gender, or national origin. This movement paved the way for programming such as affirmative action, which mandated special efforts to hire or enroll those who had faced discrimination in the past. Although the legacy and implementation of such programs remain a topic of debate and evolution, the fundamental principle that emerged from the civil rights movement is the widespread acknowledgment that discriminatory practices are unacceptable in hiring and enrollment processes.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 played a crucial role in workplace equality, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as race, color, national origin, and religion. The National Organization for Women (NOW) was also established in light of these developments to promote workplace equality, which included equal pay for women. Throughout these years, grassroots activism was instrumental in catalyzing federal action, and diverse minority groups sought to claim equal opportunities in the American society.