Affirmative action

Affirmative action, which incorporates some features from the two distinct British concepts of "positive
discrimination" and "positive action", is a set of policies that support members of disadvantaged groups that
have previously suffered discrimination (and may continue to) in such areas as education, employment, or
housing.[1][2][3][4] Historically and internationally, support for affirmative action has sought to achieve goals
such as bridging inequalities in employment and pay, increasing access to education, promoting diversity,
and redressing apparent past wrongs, harms, or hindrances.

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,
whereby a certain percentage of government jobs, political positions, and school vacancies must be reserved
for members of a certain group; an example of this is the reservation system in India.

In some other regions where quotas are not used, minority group members are given preference or special
consideration in selection processes. In the United States, affirmative action in employment and education
has been the subject of legal and political controversy. In 2003, the Supreme Court of the United States, in
Grutter v. Bollinger, held that the University of Michigan Law School could consider race as a plus-factor
when evaluating applicants holistically and maintained the prohibition on the use of quotas.[5][6]

In the UK, hiring someone simply because of their protected group status, without regard to their
performance, is illegal.[7][8][9] However, the law in the UK does allow for membership in a protected and
disadvantaged group to be considered in hiring and promotion in the event that that group is under-
represented in a given area and if the candidates are of equal merit. The controlling logic is that the person
must not be chosen simply because of their group membership, but rather that the relevant authorities are
allowed to use disadvantaged group status as a "tie-breaker" between two candidates of otherwise equal
merit.[10] This is functionally the same as the practice known as "affirmative action" in the United States.

An alternative approach common in the UK is described as "positive action", however. Under this approach,
the focus tends to be on ensuring equal opportunity and, for example, targeted advertising campaigns to
encourage ethnic minority candidates to join the police force. This is often described as being "color blind",
although the social viability of that concept is heavily contested.[11][12]

Contents
Origins
Women
Quotas
National approaches
Africa
South Africa
Apartheid
Post-apartheid – the Employment Equity Act
Affirmative Action Purpose
Outcomes
 Asia
China
Israel
India
Malaysia
Sri Lanka
Taiwan
Europe
Finland
France
Germany
Norway
Romania
Russia
Slovakia
United Kingdom
North America
Canada
United States
Oceania
New Zealand
South America
Brazil
International organizations
United Nations
Support
Polls
Criticism
Mismatching
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Origins
The term "affirmative action" was first used in the United States in "Executive Order No. 10925",[13] signed
by President John F. Kennedy on 6 March 1961, which included a provision that government contractors
"take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated [fairly] during
employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin".[14] It was used to promote actions
that achieve non-discrimination. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order 11246 which
required government employers to take "affirmative action" to "hire without regard to race, religion and
national origin". This prevented employers from discriminating against members of disadvantaged groups.
In 1967, gender was added to the anti-discrimination list.[15]
Affirmative action is intended to promote the opportunities of defined minority groups within a society to
give them equal access to that of the majority population.[16]

It is often instituted for government and educational settings to ensure that certain designated "minority
groups" within a society are able to participate in all provided opportunities including promotional,
educational, and training opportunities.[17]

The stated justification for affirmative action by its proponents is that it helps to compensate for past
discrimination, persecution or exploitation by the ruling class of a culture,[18] and to address existing
discrimination.[19]

Women
Several different studies investigated the effect of affirmative action on women. Kurtulus (2012) in her
review of affirmative action and the occupational advancement of minorities and women during 1973–2003
showed that the effect of affirmative action on advancing black, Hispanic, and white women into
management, professional, and technical occupations occurred primarily during the 1970s and early 1980s.
During this period, contractors grew their shares of these groups more rapidly than noncontractors because
of the implementation of affirmative action. But the positive effect of affirmative action vanished entirely in
the late 1980s, which Kurtulus says may be due to the slowdown into advanced occupation for women and
minorities because of the political shift of affirmative action that started by President Reagan. Becoming a
federal contractor increased white women's share of professional occupations by 0.183 percentage points, or
7.3 percent, on average during these three decades, and increased black women's share by 0.052 percentage
points (or by 3.9 percent). Becoming a federal contractor also increased Hispanic women's and black men's
share of technical occupations on average by 0.058 percent and 0.109 percentage points respectively (or by
7.7 and 4.2 percent). These represent a substantial contribution of affirmative action to overall trends in the
occupational advancement of women and minorities over the three decades under the study.[20] A reanalysis
of multiple scholarly studies, especially in Asia, considered the impact of four primary factors on support for
affirmative action programs for women: gender; political factors; psychological factors; and social structure.
Kim and Kim (2014) found that, "Affirmative action both corrects existing unfair treatment and gives
women equal opportunity in the future."[21]

Quotas
Law regarding quotas and affirmative action varies widely from nation to nation. Caste-based quotas are
used in India for reservation. However, they are illegal in the United States, where no employer, university,
or other entity may create a set number required for each race.

In 2012, the European Union Commission approved a plan for women to constitute 40% of non-executive
board directorships in large listed companies in Europe by 2020.[22] In Sweden, the Supreme Court has
ruled that "affirmative action" ethnic quotas in universities are discrimination and hence unlawful. It said
that the requirements for the intake should be the same for all. The justice minister said that the decision left
no room for uncertainty.[23]

National approaches
In some countries that have laws on racial equality, affirmative action is rendered illegal because it does not
treat all races equally. This approach of equal treatment is sometimes described as being "color blind", in
hopes that it is effective against discrimination without engaging in reverse discrimination.
In such countries, the focus tends to be on ensuring equal opportunity and, for example, targeted advertising
campaigns to encourage ethnic minority candidates to join the police force. This is sometimes described as
"positive action".

Africa

South Africa

Apartheid

The apartheid government, as a matter of state policy, favoured white-owned, especially Afrikaner-owned
companies. The aforementioned policies achieved the desired results, but in the process they marginalised
and excluded black people. Skilled jobs were also reserved for white people, and blacks were largely used as
unskilled labour, enforced by legislation including the Mines and Works Act, the Job Reservations Act, the
Native Building Workers Act, the Apprenticeship Act and the Bantu Education Act,[24] creating and
extending the "colour bar" in South African labour.[25] Then the whites successfully persuaded the
government to enact laws that highly restricted the blacks' employment opportunities.

Since the 1960s the apartheid laws had been weakened. Consequently, from 1975 to 1990 the real wages of
black manufacturing workers rose by 50%, while those of whites rose by 1%.[26]

The variation in skills and productivity between groups of people ultimately caused disparities in
employment, occupation and income within labour markets, which provided advantages to certain groups
and characteristics of people. This in due course was the motivation to introduce affirmative action in South
Africa, following the end of apartheid.[27]

Post-apartheid – the Employment Equity Act

Following the transition to democracy in 1994, the African National Congress-led government chose to
implement affirmative action legislation to correct previous imbalances (a policy known as employment
equity). As such, all employers were compelled by law to employ previously disenfranchised groups
(blacks, Indians, and Coloureds). A related, but distinct concept is Black Economic Empowerment.[28]

The Employment Equity Act and the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act aim to promote and
achieve equality in the workplace (in South Africa termed "equity"), by advancing people from designated
groups. The designated groups who are to be advanced include all people of colour, women (including white
women) and people with disabilities (including white people). Employment Equity legislation requires
companies employing more than 50 people to design and implement plans to improve the representativity of
workforce demographics, and report them to the Department of Labour.[29]

Employment Equity also forms part of a company's Black Economic Empowerment scorecard: in a
relatively complex scoring system, which allows for some flexibility in the manner in which each company
meets its legal commitments, each company is required to meet minimum requirements in terms of
representation by previously disadvantaged groups. The matters covered include equity ownership,
representation at employee and management level (up to board of director level), procurement from black-
owned businesses and social investment programs, amongst others.

The policies of Employment Equity and, particularly, Black Economic empowerment have been criticised
both by those who view them as discriminatory against white people, and by those who view them as
ineffectual.[30][31][32][33][34]
These laws cause disproportionally high costs for small companies and reduce economic growth and
employment.[26] The laws may give the black middle-class some advantage but can make the worse-off
blacks even poorer.[26] Moreover, the Supreme Court has ruled that in principle blacks may be favored, but
in practice this should not lead to unfair discrimination against the others.[26][26]

Affirmative Action Purpose

As mentioned previously affirmative action was introduced through the Employment Equality Act, 55 in
1998, 4 years after the end of apartheid. This act was passed to promote the constitutional right of equality
and exercise true democracy. This idea was to eliminate unfair discrimination in employment, to ensure the
implementation of employment equity to redress the effects of discrimination, to achieve a diverse
workforce broadly representative of our people, to promote economic development and efficiency in the
workforce and to give effects to the obligations of the Republic as a member of the International Labour
Organisation.[27][35]

Many embraced the Act; however some concluded that the act contradicted itself. The act eliminates unfair
discrimination in certain sectors of the national labour market by imposing similar constraints on another.[27]

With the introduction of Affirmative Action, Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) rose additionally in
South Africa. The BEE was not a moral initiative to redress the wrongs of the past but to promote growth
and strategies that aim to realize a country's full potential. The idea was targeting the weakest link in
economics, which was inequality and which would help develop the economy. This is evident in the
statement by the Department of Trade and Industry, "As such, this strategy stresses a BEE process that is
associated with growth, development and enterprise development, and not merely the redistribution of
existing wealth".[36][37] Similarities between the BEE and affirmative action are apparent; however there is a
difference. BEE focuses more on employment equality rather than taking wealth away from the skilled
white labourers.[36]

The main goal of Affirmative Action is for a country to reach its full potential. This occurrence would result
in a completely diverse workforce in economic and social sectors. Thus broadening the economic base and
therefore stimulating economic growth.[38]

Outcomes

Once applied within the country, many different outcomes arose, some positive and some negative. This
depended on the approach to and the view of The Employment Equality Act and affirmative action.

Positive: Pre-Democracy, the apartheid governments discriminated against non-white races, so with
affirmative action, the country started to redress past discriminations. Affirmative action also focused on
combating structural racism and racial inequality, hoping to maximize diversity in all levels of society and
sectors.[39] Achieving this would elevate the status of the perpetual underclass and to restore equal access to
the benefits of society.[27]

Negative: As with all policies, there have also been negative outcomes. A quota system was implemented,
which aimed to achieve targets of diversity in a work force. This target affected the hiring and level of skill
in the work force, ultimately impacting the free market.[38][39] Affirmative action created marginalization
for coloured and Indian races in South Africa, as well as developing and aiding the middle and elite classes,
leaving the lower class behind. This created a bigger gap between the lower and middle class, which led to
class struggles and a greater segregation.[35][39] Entitlement began to arise with the growth of the middle
and elite classes, as well as race entitlement. Some assert that affirmative action is discrimination in reverse.
Negative consequences of affirmative action, specifically the quota system, drove skilled labour away,
resulting in bad economic growth. This is due to very few international companies wanting to invest in
South Africa.[39] As a result of the outcomes of affirmative action, the concept is continually evolving.[39]

South African jurist Martin van Staden argues that the way affirmative action and transformation policies
have been implemented in South Africa has eroded state institutions, grown corruption, and undermined the
rule of law in the country.[40][41]

Asia

China

There is affirmative action in education for minority nationalities. This may equate to lowering minimum
requirements for the National University Entrance Examination, which is a mandatory exam for all students
to enter university.[42][43] Some universities set quotas for minority (non-Han) student intake. Further,
minority students enrolled in ethnic minority-oriented specialties (e.g. language and literature programs) are
provided with scholarships and/or pay no tuition, and are granted a monthly stipend.

Israel

A class-based affirmative action policy was incorporated into the admission practices of the four most
selective universities in Israel during the early to mid-2000s. In evaluating the eligibility of applicants,
neither their financial status nor their national or ethnic origins are considered. The emphasis, rather, is on
structural disadvantages, especially neighborhood socioeconomic status and high school rigor, although
several individual hardships are also weighed. This policy made the four institutions, especially the echelons
at the most selective departments, more diverse than they otherwise would have been. The rise in
geographic, economic and demographic diversity of a student population suggests that the plan's focus on
structural determinants of disadvantage yields broad diversity dividends.[44]

Israeli citizens who are; Women, Arabs, Blacks or people with disabilities are entitled to Affirmative Action
in the civil service employment.[45] Also Israeli citizens who are Arabs, Blacks or people with disabilities
are entitled for Affirmative Actions are entitled for full University tuition scholarships by the state.[46]

In her study of gender politics in Israel, Dafna Izraeli showed that the paradox of affirmative action for
women directors is that the legitimation for legislating their inclusion on boards also resulted in the
exclusion of women's interested as a legitimate issue on the boards' agendas. "The new culture of the men's
club is seductive token women are under the pressure to become "social males" and prove that their
competence as directors, meaning that they are not significantly different from men. In the negotiation for
status as worthy peers, emphasizing gender signals that a woman is an "imposter", someone who does not
rightfully belong in the position she is claiming to fill." And once affirmative action for women is fulfilled,
and then affirmative action shares the element, as Izraeli put it, the "group equality discourse," making it
easier for other groups to claim for a fairer distribution of resources. This suggests that affirmative action
can have applications for different groups in Israel.[47]

India

Reservation in India is a form of affirmative action designed to improve the well-being of backward
marginalised un-represented indigenous communities as defined primarily by their caste i.e. Ethnicity.
Reservation in India favors the marginalised sections of the population with almost 25% of Indian Citizens
eligible for reservation benefits.[48] 59.5% of all college admissions and government jobs are reserved but
they can also compete for the remaining 40.5% unreserved quota as well.[49] Before the year of 2019 only
0.7% of scholarships disbursed by the government were given on the basis of merit, with over 94% of the
scholarships given on basis of Reservation instead.[50]

Malaysia

The Malaysian New Economic Policy or NEP serves as a form of affirmative action. Malaysia provides
affirmative action to the majority because in general, the Malays have lower incomes than the Chinese, who
have traditionally been involved in businesses and industries, but who were also general migrant
workers.[51] Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country, with Malays making up the majority of close to 52% of the
population. About 23% of the population is of Chinese descent, while those of Indian descent comprise
about 7% of the population.

(See also Bumiputra) The mean income for Malays, Chinese and Indians in 1957/58 were 134, 288 and 228
respectively. In 1967/68 it was 154, 329 and 245, and in 1970 it was 170, 390 and 300. Mean income
disparity ratio for Chinese/Malays rose from 2.1 in 1957/58 to 2.3 in 1970, whereas for Indians/Malays the
disparity ratio also rose from 1.7 to 1.8 in the same period.[52] The Malays viewed Independence as
restoring their proper place in their own country's socioeconomic order while the non-Malays were opposing
government efforts to advance Malay political primacy and economic welfare.

Sri Lanka

In 1981 the Standardization policy of Sri Lankan universities was introduced as an affirmative action
program for students from areas which had lower rates of education than other areas due to missionary
activity in the north and east, which essentially were the Tamil areas. Successive governments cultivated a
historical myth after the colonial powers had left that the British had practised communal favouritism
towards Christians and the minority Tamil community for the entire 200 years they had controlled Sri
Lanka. However, the Sinhalese in fact benefitted from trade and plantation cultivations over the rest of the
other groups and their language and culture as well as the religion of Buddhism was fostered and made into
mediums for schools over the Tamil language, which did not have the same treatment and Tamils learned
English instead as there was no medium for Tamil until near independence. Tamils' knowledge of English
and education came from the very American missionary activity by overseas Christians that the British were
concerned will anger the Sinhalese and destroy their trading relationships, so they sent them to the Tamil
areas instead to teach, thinking it would have no consequences and due to their small numbers. The British
sending the missionaries to the north and east was for the protection of the Sinhalese and in fact showed
favouritism to the majority group instead of the minorities to maintain trading relationships and benefits
from them. The Tamils, out of this random benefit from learning English and basic education excelled and
flourished and were able to take many civil service jobs to the chagrin of the Sinhalese. The myth of Divide
and Rule is untrue. The 'policy of standardisation' was typical of affirmative action policies, in that it
required drastically lower standards for Sinhalese students than for the more academic Tamils who had to
get about ten more marks to enter into universities. The policy, were it not implemented would have
prevented the civil wars ahead as the policies had no basis and in fact is an example of discrimination
against the Tamil ethnic group.[53]

Taiwan

A 2004 legislation requires that, for a firm with 100 employees or more wishing to compete for government
contracts, at least 1 per cent of its employees must be Taiwanese aborigines.[54] Ministry of Education and
Council of Aboriginal Affairs announced in 2002 that Taiwanese Aboriginal students would have their high-
school or undergraduate entrance exams boosted by 33% for demonstrating some knowledge of their tribal
language and culture.[55] The percentage of boost have been revised several times, and the latest percentage
is 35% in 2013.[56]

Europe

Finland

In certain university education programs, including legal and medical education, there are quotas for persons
who reach a certain standard of skills in the Swedish language; for students admitted in these quotas, the
education is partially arranged in Swedish.[57][58] The purpose of the quotas is to guarantee that a sufficient
number of professionals with skills in Swedish are educated for nationwide needs.[57] The quota system has
met with criticism from the Finnish speaking majority, some of whom consider the system unfair. In
addition to these linguistic quotas, women may get preferential treatment in recruitment for certain public
sector jobs if there is a gender imbalance in the field.

France

No distinctions based on race, religion or sex are allowed under the 1958 French Constitution.[59] Since the
1980s, a French version of affirmative action based on neighborhood is in place for primary and secondary
education. Some schools, in neighborhoods labeled "Priority Education Zones", are granted more funds than
the others. Students from these schools also benefit from special policies in certain institutions (such as
Sciences Po).[60]

The French Ministry of Defence tried in 1990 to make it easier for young French soldiers of North-African
descent to be promoted in rank and obtain driving licenses. After a strong protest by a young French
lieutenant[61] in the Ministry of Defence newspaper (Armées d'aujourd'hui), the driving license and rank
plan was cancelled. After the Sarkozy election, a new attempt in favour of Arab-French students was made,
but Sarkozy did not gain enough political support to change the French constitution. However, some French
schools do implement affirmative action in that they are obligated to take a certain number of students from
impoverished families.[62]

Additionally, following the Norwegian example, after 27 January 2014, women must represent at least 20%
of board members in all stock exchange listed or state owned companies. After 27 January 2017, the
proportion will increase to 40%. All appointments of males as directors will be invalid as long as the quota
is not met, and monetary penalties may apply for other directors.[63]

Germany

Article 3 of the German Basic Law provides for equal rights of all people regardless of sex, race or social
background. There are programs stating that if men and women have equal qualifications, women have to be
preferred for a job; moreover, the disabled should be preferred to non-disabled people. This is typical for all
positions in state and university service as of 2007, typically using the phrase "We try to increase diversity
in this line of work". In recent years, there has been a long public debate about whether to issue programs
that would grant women a privileged access to jobs in order to fight discrimination. Germany's Left Party
brought up the discussion about affirmative action in Germany's school system. According to Stefan Zillich,
quotas should be "a possibility" to help working class children who did not do well in school gain access to
a Gymnasium (University-preparatory school).[64] Headmasters of Gymnasien have objected, saying that
this type of policy would "be a disservice" to poor children.[65]
Norway

In all public stock companies (ASA) boards, either gender should be represented by at least 40%.[66] This
affects roughly 400 companies of over 300,000 in total.[67]

Seierstad & Opsahl in their study of the effects of affirmative action on presence, prominence, and social
capital of women directors in Norway found that there are few boards chaired by a woman, from the
beginning of the implementation of affirmative action policy period to August 2009, the proportion of
boards led by a woman has increased from 3.4% to 4.3%. This suggests that the law has had a marginal
effect on the sex of the chair and the boards remain internally segregated. Although at the beginning of our
observation period, only 7 of 91 prominent directors were women. The gender balance among prominent
directors has changed considerable through the period, and at the end of the period, 107 women and 117
men were prominent directors. By applying more restrictive definitions of prominence, the proportion of
directors who are women generally increases. If only considering directors with at least three directorships,
61.4% of them are women. When considering directors with seven or more directorships, all of them are
women. Thus, affirmative action increase the female population in the director position.[68]

A 2016 study found no effect of the ASA representation requirement on either valuation or profits of the
affected companies, and also no correlation between the requirement and the restructuring of companies
away from ASA.[69][70]

Romania

Romani people are allocated quotas for access to public schools and state universities.[71]

Russia

Quota systems existed in the USSR for various social groups including ethnic minorities (as a compensation
of their "cultural backwardness"), women and factory workers.

Quotas for access to university education, offices in the Soviet system and the Communist Party existed: for
example, the position of First Secretary of a Soviet Republic's (or Autonomous Republic's) Party Committee
was always filled by a representative of this republic's "titular ethnicity".

Modern Russia retains this system partially. Quotas are abolished, however, preferences for some ethnic
minorities and inhabitants of certain territories[72] remain.

Slovakia

The Constitutional Court declared in October 2005 that affirmative action i.e. "providing advantages for
people of an ethnic or racial minority group" as being against its Constitution.[73]

United Kingdom

The Equality Act 2010 established the principles of equality and their implementation in the UK.[74] In the
UK, any discrimination, quotas or favouritism due to sex, race and ethnicity among other "protected
characteristics" is illegal by default in education, employment, during commercial transactions, in a private
club or association, and while using public services,[7][8][9] although exceptions exist, to whit: "Section 159
of the Equality Act 2010 allows an employer to treat an applicant or employee with a protected
characteristic (eg race, sex or age) more favourably in connection with recruitment or promotion than
someone without that characteristic who is as qualified for the role. The employer must reasonably think
that people with the protected characteristic suffer a disadvantage or are under-represented in that particular
activity. Taking the positive action must be a proportionate means of enabling or encouraging people to
overcome the disadvantage or to take part in the activity.")[10]

Specific exemptions include:

Part of the Northern Ireland Peace Process, the Good Friday Agreement and the resulting
Patten report required the Police Service of Northern Ireland to recruit 50% of numbers from
the Catholic community and 50% from the Protestant and other communities, in order to
reduce any possible bias towards Protestants. This was later referred to as the '50:50'
measure.[75] (See also Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland.)
The Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002 allowed the use of all-women shortlists
to select more women as election candidates.[76]

In 2019, an employment tribunal ruled that, while attempting to create a diverse force, the Cheshire Police
had discriminated against a "well prepared" white heterosexual male. The ruling stated that "while positive
action can be used to boost diversity, it should only be applied to distinguish between candidates who were
all equally well qualified for a role".[77]

North America

Canada

The equality section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms explicitly permits affirmative action
type legislation, although the Charter does not require legislation that gives preferential treatment.
Subsection 2 of Section 15 states that the equality provisions do "not preclude any law, program or activity
that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those
that are disadvantaged because of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or
physical disability".

The Canadian Employment Equity Act requires employers in federally-regulated industries to give
preferential treatment to four designated groups: Women, persons with disabilities, aboriginal peoples, and
visible minorities. Less than one-third of Canadian Universities offer alternative admission requirements for
students of aboriginal descent. Some provinces and territories also have affirmative action-type policies. For
example, in Northwest Territories in the Canadian north, aboriginal people are given preference for jobs and
education and are considered to have P1 status. Non-aboriginal people who were born in the NWT or have
resided half of their life there are considered a P2, as well as women and people with disabilities.[78]

United States

The policy of affirmative action dates to the Reconstruction Era in the United States, 1863–1877.[79] Current
policy was introduced in the early 1960s in the United States, as a way to combat racial discrimination in the
hiring process, with the concept later expanded to address gender discrimination.[15] Affirmative action was
first created from Executive Order 10925, which was signed by President John F. Kennedy on 6 March 1961
and required that government employers "not discriminate against any employee or applicant for
employment because of race, creed, color, or national origin" and "take affirmative action to ensure that
applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race,
creed, color, or national origin".[80][81]
On 24 September 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Executive Order 11246, thereby replacing
Executive Order 10925 and affirming Federal Government's commitment "to promote the full realization of
equal employment opportunity through a positive, continuing program in each executive department and
agency".[3] Affirmative action was extended to women by Executive Order 11375 which amended
Executive Order 11246 on 13 October 1967, by adding "sex" to the list of protected categories. In the U.S.
affirmative action's original purpose was to pressure institutions into compliance with the nondiscrimination
mandate of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[19][82] The Civil Rights Acts do not cover veterans, people with
disabilities, or people over 40. These groups may be protected from discrimination under different laws.[83]

Affirmative action has been the subject of numerous court cases,[84] and has been questioned upon its
constitutional legitimacy. In 2003, a Supreme Court decision regarding affirmative action in higher
education (Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 US 244 – Supreme Court 2003) permitted educational institutions to
consider race as a factor when admitting students.[5] Alternatively, some colleges use financial criteria to
attract racial groups that have typically been under-represented and typically have lower living conditions.
Some states such as California (California Civil Rights Initiative), Michigan (Michigan Civil Rights
Initiative), and Washington (Initiative 200) have passed constitutional amendments banning public
institutions, including public schools, from practicing affirmative action within their respective states.
Conservative activists have alleged that colleges quietly use illegal quotas to increase the number of
minorities and have launched numerous lawsuits to stop them.[85]

Oceania

New Zealand

Individuals of Māori or other Polynesian descent are often afforded improved access to university courses,
or have scholarships earmarked specifically for them.[7] Affirmative action is provided for under section 73
of the Human Rights Act 1993[86] and section 19(2) of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.[87]

South America

Brazil

Some Brazilian universities (state and federal) have created systems of preferred admissions (quotas) for
racial minorities (blacks and Amerindians), the poor and people with disabilities. There are also quotas of up
to 20% of vacancies reserved for people with disabilities in the civil public services.[88] The Democrats
party, accusing the board of directors of the University of Brasília for "resurrecting nazist ideals", appealed
to the Supreme Federal Court against the constitutionality of the quotas the University reserves for
minorities.[89] The Supreme Court unanimously approved their constitutionality on 26 April 2012.[90]

International organizations

United Nations

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination stipulates (in Article
2.2) that affirmative action programs may be required of countries that ratified the convention, in order to
rectify systematic discrimination. It states, however, that such programs "shall in no case entail as a
consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate rights for different racial groups after the objectives for
which they were taken have been achieved".[91]

The United Nations Human Rights Committee states that "the principle of equality sometimes requires
States parties to take affirmative action in order to diminish or eliminate conditions which cause or help to
perpetuate discrimination prohibited by the Covenant. For example, in a State where the general conditions
of a certain part of the population prevent or impair their enjoyment of human rights, the State should take
specific action to correct those conditions. Such action may involve granting for a time to the part of the
population concerned certain preferential treatment in specific matters as compared with the rest of the
population. However, as long as such action is needed to correct discrimination, in fact, it is a case of
legitimate differentiation under the Covenant."[91]

Support
The principle of affirmative action is to promote societal equality through the preferential treatment of
socioeconomically disadvantaged people. Often, these people are disadvantaged for historical reasons, such
as oppression or slavery.[92] Historically and internationally, support for affirmative action has sought to
achieve a range of goals: bridging inequalities in employment and pay; increasing access to education;
enriching state, institutional, and professional leadership with the full spectrum of society; redressing
apparent past wrongs, harms, or hindrances, in particular addressing the apparent social imbalance left in the
wake of slavery and slave laws.

A 2017 study found that affirmative action in the United States "increases the black share of employees over
time: in 5 years after an establishment is first regulated, the black share of employees increases by an
average of 0.8 percentage points. Strikingly, the black share continues to grow at a similar pace even after an
establishment is deregulated. One could argue that this persistence is driven in part by affirmative action
inducing employers to improve their methods for screening potential hires."[93]

Polls

According to a poll taken by USA Today in 2005, the majority of Americans support affirmative action for
women, while views on minority groups were more split.[94] Men are only slightly more likely to support
affirmative action for women; though a majority of both do.[94] However, a slight majority of Americans do
believe that affirmative action goes beyond ensuring access and goes into the realm of preferential
treatment.[94] More recently, a Quinnipiac poll from June 2009 finds that 55% of Americans feel that
affirmative action in general should be discontinued, though 55% support it for people with disabilities.[95]
A Gallup poll from 2005 showed that 72% of black Americans and 44% of white Americans supported
racial affirmative action (with 21% and 49% opposing), with support and opposition among Hispanics
falling between those of blacks and whites. Support among blacks, unlike among whites, had almost no
correlation with political affiliation.[96]

A 2009 Quinnipiac University Polling Institute survey found 65% of American voters opposed the
application of affirmative action to gay people, with 27% indicating they supported it.[95]

A Leger poll taken in 2010 found 59% of Canadians opposed considering race, gender, or ethnicity when
hiring for government jobs.[97]

A 2014 Pew Research Center poll found that 63% of Americans thought affirmative action programs aimed
at increasing minority representation on college campuses were "a good thing", compared to 30% who
thought they were "a bad thing".[98] The following year, Gallup released a poll showing that 67% of
Americans supported affirmative action programs aimed at increasing female representation, compared to
58% who supported such programs aimed at increasing the representation of racial minorities.[99]

Criticism
Critics of affirmative action offer a variety of arguments as to why it is counterproductive or should be
discontinued. For example, critics may argue that affirmative action hinders reconciliation, replaces old
wrongs with new wrongs, undermines the achievements of minorities, and encourages individuals to
identify themselves as disadvantaged, even if they are not. It may increase racial tension and benefit the
more privileged people within minority groups at the expense of the least fortunate within majority
groups.[100]

Some opponents of affirmative action argue that it is a form of reverse discrimination, that any effort to cure
discrimination through affirmative action is wrong because it, in turn, is another form of discrimination.[101]
Some critics claim that court cases such as Fisher v. University of Texas, which held that colleges have some
discretion to consider race when making admissions decisions, demonstrate how discrimination occurs in
the name of affirmative action.[102]

Some critics of affirmative action argue that affirmative action devalues the actual accomplishments of
people who are chosen based on the social group to which they belong rather than their qualifications, thus
rendering affirmative action counterproductive.[103][104]

Some argue that affirmative action policies create an opportunity for fraud, by encouraging non-preferred
groups to designate themselves as members of preferred groups (that is, members of groups that benefit
from affirmative action) in order to take advantage of group preference policies.[104][105]

Critics of affirmative action suggest that programs may benefit the members of the targeted group that least
need the benefit, that is those who have the greatest social, economic and educational advantages within the
targeted group.[104] Other beneficiaries may be described as wholly unqualified for the opportunity made
available through affirmative action.[106] They may argue that at the same time the people who lose the most
to affirmative action are the least fortunate members of non-preferred groups.[104]

Another criticism of affirmative action is that it may reduce the incentives of both the preferred and non-
preferred to perform at their best. Beneficiaries of affirmative action may conclude that it is unnecessary to
work as hard, and those who do not benefit may perceive hard work as futile.[104]

Mismatching

Mismatching is the term given to the supposed negative effect that affirmative action has when it places a
student into a college that is too difficult for them. For example, according to the hypothesis, in the absence
of affirmative action, a student will be admitted to a college that matches his or her academic ability and
have a good chance of graduating. However, according to the mismatching hypothesis, affirmative action
often places a student into a college that is too difficult, and this increases the student's chance of dropping
out. Thus, according to the hypothesis, affirmative action hurts its intended beneficiaries, because it
increases their dropout rate.[107][108][109][106]

Evidence in support of the mismatching theory was presented by Gail Heriot, a professor of law at the
University of San Diego and a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, in a 24 August 2007 article
published in the Wall Street Journal. The article reported on a 2004 study that was conducted by UCLA law
professor Richard Sander and published in the Stanford Law Review. The study concluded that there were
7.9% fewer black attorneys than there would have been if there had been no affirmative action. The study
was titled, "A Systemic Analysis of Affirmative Action in American Law Schools".[110] The article also
states that because of mismatching, blacks are more likely to drop out of law school and fail bar exams.[111]

Sander's paper on mismatching has been criticized by several law professors, including Ian Ayres and
Richard Brooks from Yale who argue that eliminating affirmative action would actually reduce the number
of black lawyers by 12.7%.[112] A 2008 study by Jesse Rothstein and Albert H. Yoon confirmed Sander's
mismatch findings, but also found that eliminating affirmative action would "lead to a 63 percent decline in
black matriculants at all law schools and a 90 percent decline at elite law schools".[113] These high numbers
predictions were doubted in a review of previous studies by Peter Arcidiacono and Michael Lovenheim.
Their 2016 article found a strong indication that affirmative action results in a mismatch effect. They argued
that the attendance by some African-American students to less-selective schools would significantly
improve the low first attempt rate at passing the state bar, but they cautioned that such improvements could
be outweighed by decreases in law school attendance.[114]

A 2011 study proposed that mismatch can only occur when a selective school possesses private information
that, had this information been disclosed, would have changed the student's choice of school. The study
found that this is in fact the case for Duke University, and that this information predicts the student's
academic performance after beginning college.[115]

A 2016 study on affirmative action in India fails to find evidence for the mismatching hypothesis.[116] In
India 90% IIT-Roorkee dropouts are backward caste.[117]

See also
Achievement gap in the "Harrison Progressive stack
United States Bergeron" Quotaism
Affirmative action bake Jewish quota Reasonable accommodation
sale Legacy Special measures for gender equality in
Angry white male preferences the United Nations
Civil and political rights Minority rights Strong-basis-in-evidence standard
Disability rights movement Multiculturalism Social justice
Diversity (business) Numerus clausus Tokenism
Diversity training Political White guilt
Economic discrimination correctness
Women's rights
Equal opportunity Positive liberty
Substantive equality
Ethnic penalty Principle-policy
puzzle

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rmative-action-2379964.html).

Further reading
Anderson, Elizabeth S. (2002). "Integration, affirmative action, and strict scrutiny" (http://www.n
yulawreview.org/issues/volume-77-number-5/integration-affirmative-action-and-strict-scrutiny).
NYU Law Review. 77: 1195–271. Pdf. (https://web.archive.org/web/20150402131822/http://ww
w.nyulawreview.org/sites/default/files/pdf/NYULawReview-77-5-Anderson.pdf)
Anderson, Kristin J. (2010). " 'Affirmative Action is reverse racism': The myth of merit" (https://b
ooks.google.com/books/about/Benign_Bigotry.html?id=_STPJNHE5fAC&pg=PA278&dq=%22r
everse+racism%22). Benign Bigotry: The Psychology of Subtle Prejudice. Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press. pp. 278–334. ISBN 978-0-52-187835-7.
Anderson, Terry H. (2004). The pursuit of fairness: a history of affirmative action (https://archiv
e.org/details/pursuitoffairnes00ande). Oxford New York: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 9780195157642.
Boxill, Bernard; Boxill, Jan (2005), "Affirmative action", in Frey, R.G.; Heath Wellman,
Christopher (eds.), A companion to applied ethics (https://archive.org/details/companiontoappli
0000unse/page/89), Blackwell Companions to Philosophy, Oxford, UK Malden,
Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, pp. 89–101 (https://archive.org/details/companiontoappli
0000unse/page/89), doi:10.1002/9780470996621.ch9 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2F978047099
6621.ch9), ISBN 9781405133456.
Bolick, Clint (2008). "Affirmative Action" (https://books.google.com/books?id=yxNgXs3TkJYC).
In Hamowy, Ronald (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism. The Encyclopedia of
Libertarianism. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage; Cato Institute. pp. 6–8.
doi:10.4135/9781412965811.n5 (https://doi.org/10.4135%2F9781412965811.n5). ISBN 978-1-
4129-6580-4. LCCN 2008009151 (https://lccn.loc.gov/2008009151). OCLC 750831024 (http
s://www.worldcat.org/oclc/750831024).
Bossuyt, Marc (17 June 2002). "United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights" (https://web.archive.org/web/20151016080556/http://www.unhchr.
ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/TestFrame/0aaa7775daf0bcebc1256c0c0031c5bd?Opendocumen
t). UN Economic and Social Council. Archived from the original (http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocd
a/Huridoca.nsf/TestFrame/0aaa7775daf0bcebc1256c0c0031c5bd?Opendocument) on 16
October 2015. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/21 Pdf. (https://web.archive.org/web/20140319035719/htt
p://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/0aaa7775daf0bcebc1256c0c0031c5bd/%24FILE/
G0214014.pdf)
Condit, Deirdre M.; Condit, Celeste M.; Achter, Paul J. (Spring 2001). "Human equality,
affirmative action, and genetic models of human variation". Rhetoric & Public Affairs. 4 (1): 85–
108. doi:10.1353/rap.2001.0003 (https://doi.org/10.1353%2Frap.2001.0003).
JSTOR 41939651 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/41939651).
Featherman, David L.; Hall, Martin; Krislov, Marvin, eds. (2010). The next twenty-five years:
affirmative action in higher education in the United States and South Africa (https://archive.org/
details/isbn_9780472033775). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
ISBN 9780472033775. Forewords by: Mary Sue Coleman, President of the University of
Michigan and Njabulo Ndebele, Former Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of
Cape Town. Details. (http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=229720)
Ghorbal, Karim (2015). "Essence coloniale d'une politique contemporaine: pour une approche
fanonienne de la discrimination positive en France". Culture & History Digital Journal. 4 (2):
e016. doi:10.3989/chdj.2015.016 (https://doi.org/10.3989%2Fchdj.2015.016).
Golland, David Hamilton (2008). Constructing affirmative action: federal contract compliance
and the building construction trades, 1956–1973 (PhD thesis). City University of New York.
OCLC 279305174 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/279305174). Order No. DA3325474.
Harpalani, Vinay (November 2012). "Diversity within racial groups and the constitutionality of
race-conscious admissions" (http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/jcl/vol15/iss2/3/). University of
Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law. 15 (2): 463–537.
Harpalani, Vinay (February 2013). "Fisher's fishing expedition" (http://scholarship.law.upenn.ed
u/jcl_online/vol15/iss1/5/). University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law. 15 (1):
 57–74. Pdf. (https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/1687-harpalani15upajconstlheightscrutiny572
013pdf)
Heriot, Gail & Somin, Alison, Affirmative Action for Men?: Strange Silence and Strange
Bedfellows in the Public Debate Over Discrimination Against Women in College Admissions (ht
tps://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2891107), Engage (November 2011).
Pollak, Oliver B. (1983). "Antisemitism, the Harvard Plan, and the roots of reverse
discrimination". Jewish Social Studies. 45 (2): 113–22. JSTOR 4467214 (https://www.jstor.org/
stable/4467214).
Vieth-Entus, Susanne (29 December 2008). Sozialquote: Berliner Gymnasien sollen mehr
Schüler aus armen Familien aufnehmen. Der Tagesspiegel

External links
Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). "Affirmative Action" (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/affirmative-actio
n/). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
"Affirmative action collected news and commentary" (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/ti
mestopics/subjects/a/affirmative_action/index.html). The New York Times.
Affirmative Action (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/affirm/affirm.htm)
collected news and commentary at The Washington Post
Does the success of Barack Obama mean we no longer need affirmative action? (https://www.
pbs.org/now/shows/434/index.html) NOW on PBS investigates
An interview with Professor Randall Kennedy about the presidency of Barack Obama and
affirmative action (http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160518092243/http://cle.ens-lsh.fr/29902590/0/f
iche___pagelibre/&RH=CDL_ANG020000) Clifford Armion for La Clé des langues.
Substantive Equality, Positive Action and Roma Rights in the European Union (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20070615173751/http://www.minorityrights.org/admin/Download/pdf/MRG_Roma
Briefing2006.pdf), Report by Minority Rights Group International
Intelligence Squared debate: Affirmative Action on Campus Does More Harm than Good (htt
p://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/past-debates/item/1054-affirmative-action-on-campus-d
oes-more-harm-than-good)

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