Final answer:
The Employment Equity Act aims to counteract employment disadvantages for women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities, which are part of wider affirmative action efforts to ensure a diverse and discrimination-free workforce.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Employment Equity Act addresses the need to correct the disadvantages in employment experienced by four designated groups: women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities. This act falls under the umbrella of affirmative action, which are efforts by the government or businesses to give special rights to minorities in hiring and promotion to address past discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is an integral part of this, which prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, gender, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation. As noted in section 14.5 on Employment Discrimination, these efforts are necessary because discrimination occurs in the labor market when workers with similar economic characteristics are paid differently based on these factors.
Racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S. workforce is increasing and is projected to continue to do so. For instance, while White Americans comprised 78% of the population in 2012, this is expected to decrease to 69% by 2060, with a rise in the proportion of U.S. citizens of Hispanic background. Furthermore, the increase in workforce diversity also includes women, who have entered the workforce in substantial numbers since the 1970s and 1980s, and are now ascending within their organizational ranks.