The MacBride Principles — consisting of nine fair employment principles — are a corporate code of conduct for United States companies doing business in Northern Ireland and have become the congressional standard for all US aid to, or for economic dealings with, Northern Ireland.
Besides, they were perceived as throttling foreign investment in Northern Ireland and by that increasing the economic problems of the province.
There was acceptance, but also a lack of great enthusiasm, by both the Government of the Republic of Ireland, and by moderate nationalists in Northern Ireland, amongst them the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), as the principles chimed with developing European labour law provisions.
In a 2003 report the Irish National Caucus felt that the reforms had not yet achieved complete parity, emphasising that Northern Irish Catholics were still more likely to be unemployed and undereducated, and less likely to work in managerial positions, than other groups, and calling for affirmative action policies.
[8] The MacBride Campaign is conducted on a three-fold level: The MacBride Principles have been passed in the following 18 US states:[citation needed] Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and California.