Affirmative action

Part of a series on
Discrimination
Forms
Attributes
Social
Religious
Ethnic/national
Manifestations
Policies
Countermeasures
Related topics

Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies)[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking to benefit marginalized groups. Historically and internationally, support for affirmative action has been justified by the idea that it may help with bridging inequalities in employment and pay, increasing access to education, and promoting diversity, social equity, and social inclusion and redressing alleged wrongs, harms, or hindrances, also called substantive equality.[8]

The nature of affirmative-action policies varies from region to region and exists on a spectrum from a hard quota to merely targeting encouragement for increased participation. Some countries use a quota system, reserving a certain percentage of government jobs, political positions, and school vacancies for members of a certain group; an example of this is the reservation system in India. In some other jurisdictions where quotas are not used, minority-group members are given preference or special consideration in selection processes. In the United States, affirmative action by executive order originally meant selection without regard to race but preferential treatment was widely used in college admissions, as upheld in the 2003 Supreme Court case Grutter v. Bollinger, until 2023, when this was overturned in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.[9]

A variant of affirmative action more common in Europe is known as positive action, wherein equal opportunity is promoted by encouraging underrepresented groups into a field. This is often described as being "color blind", but some American sociologists have argued that this is insufficient to achieve substantive equality of outcomes based on race.[10][11]

In the United States, affirmative action is controversial[12] and public opinion on the subject is divided. Supporters of affirmative action argue that it promotes substantive equality for group outcomes and representation for groups, which are socio-economically disadvantaged or have faced historical discrimination or oppression.[13][14] Opponents of affirmative action have argued that it is a form of reverse discrimination,[15] that it tends to benefit the most privileged within minority groups at the expense of the least fortunate within majority groups,[16] or that—when applied to universities—it can hinder minority students by placing them in courses for which they have not been adequately prepared.[17]

  1. ^ Jarrett, Tim (24 October 2011). "The Equality Act 2010 and positive action" (PDF). UK Parliament. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  2. ^ "positive discrimination". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  3. ^ "affirmative action". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  4. ^ "positive, adj. and n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2023. Web. 6 May 2023.
  5. ^ Jenkins, Laura Dudley; Moses, Michele S. (8 August 2017). "Affirmative action around the world". The Conversation. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  6. ^ Jeenger, Kailash (18 May 2020). "Reservation Is About Adequate Representation, Not Poverty Eradication". The Wire. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  7. ^ UNESCO IIEP (2021). "Flexible learning pathways in Finnish higher education". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  8. ^ Nicole Richardt; Torrey Shanks (2008), Equal Opportunity, International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, retrieved 12 September 2011 – via Encyclopedia.com
  9. ^ Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. ___ (2023).
  10. ^ Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo (2014). Racism Without Racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in the United States (4th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 101–102. ISBN 978-1-4422-2055-3.
  11. ^ Gallagher, Charles A. (2003). "Color-Blind Privilege: The Social and Political Functions of Erasing the Color Line in Post Race America". Race, Gender & Class. 10 (4): 22–37. JSTOR 41675099.
  12. ^ Fullinwider, Robert (9 April 2018) [Dec 28, 2001]. "Affirmative Action". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022. When [affirmative-action] steps involve preferential selection—selection on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity—affirmative action generates intense controversy.
  13. ^ Gururaj, Suchitra; Somers, Patricia; Fry, Jessica; Watson, Del; Cicero, Francesca; Morosini, Marilia; Zamora, Jennifer (January 2021). "Affirmative action policy: Inclusion, exclusion, and the global public good". Policy Futures in Education. 19 (1): 63–83. doi:10.1177/1478210320940139. hdl:10923/19826. S2CID 225376002.
  14. ^ Fullinwider, Robert (9 April 2018) [Dec 28, 2001]. "Affirmative Action". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).