Affirmative action in the United States

Legality of affirmative action in the United States by state
  Affirmative action and other forms of selective employment are banned
  Affirmative action and other forms of selective employment are not banned

In the United States, affirmative action consists of government-mandated, government-approved, and voluntary private programs granting special consideration to groups considered or classified as historically excluded, specifically racial minorities and women.[1][2] These programs tend to focus on access to education and employment in order to redress the disadvantages[3][4][5][6][7] associated with past and present discrimination.[8] Another goal of affirmative action policies is to ensure that public institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and police forces, are more representative of the populations they serve.[9]

As of 2024, affirmative action rhetoric has been increasingly replaced by emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion and nine states explicitly ban its use in the employment process.[10][11] The Supreme Court in 2023 explicitly rejected race-based affirmative action in college admissions in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. The Court held that affirmative action programs "lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today".[12][13][14]

  1. ^ Messerli, Joe (April 2010). "Should affirmative action policies, which give preferential treatment based on minority status, be eliminated?". BalancedPolitics.org. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  2. ^ Feinberg, Walter (September 15, 2005). Lafollette, Hugh (ed.). "Affirmative Action". The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics. 1. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199284238.003.0012.
  3. ^ Herring, Cedric (Spring 1995). "African Americans and disadvantage in the U.S. labor market". Perspectives. 2 (1). Pdf.
  4. ^ Chubb, C; Melis, S; Potter, L; Storry, R (2008). The global gender pay gap (PDF). International Trade Union Confederation. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  5. ^ Butto, James; Moore, Kelli N; Rienzo, Barbara A. (2006). Supporting diversity works: African American male and female employment in six Florida cities (PDF). Western Journal of Black Studies. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  6. ^ Obama, Barack (April 20, 2010). "Presidential Proclamation – National Equal Pay Day". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2010 – via National Archives.
  7. ^ "Median Weekly Earnings, by sex and race". U.S. Department of Labor. 2008. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  8. ^ Zalta, Edward N., ed. (December 28, 2001). "Affirmative Action". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2013 ed.). Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  9. ^ Anderson, Elizabeth S.; Rawls, John; Thurnau, Arthur F. (July 2008). "Race, gender, and affirmative action (resource page for teaching and study)". University of Michigan. Archived from the original on June 4, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  10. ^ Nino Monea, "Next on the Chopping Block: The Litigation Campaign against Race-Conscious Policies Beyond Affirmative Action in University Admissions." (SSRN 4440549, 2023) online
  11. ^ Schwarzschild, Maimon and Heriot, Gail L., Race Preferences, Diversity, and Students for Fair Admissions: A New Day, a New Clarity (January 16, 2024). SMU Law Review, Forthcoming (2024), San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 24-003, online
  12. ^ Ariana Baio, "Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action, banning colleges from factoring race in admissions: In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled higher education institutions may not consider race as a factor in admissions" The Independent (29 June 2023) online
  13. ^ Dan Morgan, "Supreme Court rejects affirmative action at colleges as unconstitutional" CNBC June 29, 2023 online
  14. ^ Cara McClellan, "When Claims Collide: Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and the Meaning of Discrimination." U of Penn Law School, Public Law Research Paper 23-20 (2023). online