affirmative action

[ uh-fur-muh-tiv ak-shuhn ]

noun

1. the encouragement of increased representation of women and minority-group members, especially in employment.

affirmative action

noun

1. a policy or programme designed to counter discrimination against minority groups and women in areas such as employment and education Brit equivalentpositive discrimination

affirmative action

1. A term referring to various government policies that aim to increase the proportion of African-Americans, women, and other minorities in jobs and educational institutions historically dominated by white men. The policies usually require employers and institutions to set goals for hiring or admitting minorities.

Notes

Affirmative action has been extremely controversial. Supporters maintain that it is the only way to overcome the effects of past discrimination and promote integration . Critics dismiss it as “reverse discrimination,” denying opportunities to qualified whites and men. ( See Bakke decision).

Other Words From

• af·firm·a·tive-ac·tion adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of affirmative action¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

This difference is despite seven decades of affirmative action, India's caste system - a four-fold hierarchy of the Hindu religion - remains deeply entrenched.

From BBC

They said she was stupid and basically a "DEI" or "affirmative action" or "quota" hire, "the enemy within" to be vanquished.

From Salon

Ghana now joins Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Mozambique and others in Africa that have working affirmative action laws.

From BBC

Some institutions of higher education across the nation have begun to review and roll back race-conscious scholarships in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling race-based affirmative action in university admissions unconstitutional.

From Salon

Supreme Court ruled last year that race-based affirmative action in college applications is unconstitutional.

From Los Angeles Times

More About Affirmative Action

What is affirmative action?

Affirmative action is a general term for a policy that encourages organizations to increase their representation of historically oppressed groups, such as racial minorities and women. Affirmative action is especially common in employment and education.

At one time, affirmative action was actually sometimes enforced through quotas. Organizations had to have a specific number of their members be from various groups. However, the Supreme Court declared this to be unconstitutional. Instead, many organizations use the phrase goals and timetables to refer to the number of applicants of disenfranchised groups they hope to recruit, admit, or hire. Legally, an organization does not have to actually meet their affirmative action goal but is supposed to use the goal to measure how effective it is at representing certain groups.

Affirmative action is, generally speaking, more strictly enforced by the federal government. This means that businesses that have contracts with the federal government or are funded by the federal government (such as college scholarship programs) could lose their funding or face other effects if they fail to meet their affirmative action goals. 

Private organizations, on the other hand, cannot be forced to implement affirmative action programs. Still, many schools and businesses voluntarily create their own programs or pursue what is known as “equal opportunity employment” to avoid violating discrimination laws.

Why is affirmative action important?

The first records of the phrase affirmative action come from around 1960. The phrase was used by President John F. Kennedy to show that the government affirmed (stated or asserted) its intention to take action against discrimination. This is still largely the intent behind many affirmative action programs today.

Affirmative action has been extremely controversial and polarizing throughout much of US history and remains so today. In the legal system, for example, courts have seen numerous affirmative action policies challenged, ruled unlawful, upheld, appealed, re-upheld, re-appealed, and so on. Supporters of affirmative action argue that these policies help fight against wider discrimination and improve organizations by encouraging diversity. Opponents argue that affirmative action is a form of positive discrimination and is often itself biased toward upper- and middle-class people.

Did you know … ?

Affirmative action policies are illegal in California, Washington, Arizona, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Michigan, Florida, and New Hampshire. Affirmative action was also illegal in the state of Texas from 1996 until 2003.

What are real-life examples of affirmative action?

This video shows a news story on affirmative action and gives an example of why it is often considered to be controversial among Americans:

<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8ixzZYxM7Hc" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

Affirmative action is a very divisive subject among Americans. Even mere mentions of affirmative action on social media often result in angry debate and arguing.

Harvard wins affirmative action lawsuit in federal district court, Boston. Major victory, appeal likely.

— Richard Wolf (@richardjwolf) October 1, 2019

Former Va Sen. Webb challenged on his criticism of affirmative action, says he's always supported it among African Americans #DemDebate

— WSYX ABC 6 (@wsyx6) October 14, 2015

 

What other words are related to affirmative action?

• discrimination
• equality
• diversity
• equal opportunity
• employment
• education

Quiz yourself!

True or False?

Affirmative action encourages organizations to increase their representation of historically oppressed groups