"Affirmative action, also known as positive action or positive discrimination (British English), involves sets of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking to include particular groups that were historically discriminated against in areas in which such groups are underrepresented, mistreated or suffer from lack of public support — such as education and employment."
Policies that are intended to promote opportunities for historically marginalized groups, often in the form of educational, professional, or political programs.
Historical Background: The origins and development of affirmative action policies in the United States, including key legislation and court cases that have shaped the field.
Underrepresented Groups: The groups that have historically been underrepresented in higher education and the workplace, including women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and LGBT people.
Diversity and Inclusion: The concepts and practices of diversity and inclusion and how they relate to affirmative action policies, including the benefits and challenges of promoting diversity in organizations.
Affirmative Action Programs: Different types of affirmative action programs, such as quotas, preferential treatment, and outreach programs, and their goals and effectiveness.
Reverse Discrimination: The controversy surrounding affirmative action policies, including debates over reverse discrimination and the appropriateness of using race-based policies in education and employment.
Legal Framework: The legal framework surrounding affirmative action policies and the case law that has shaped the implementation of these policies in the U.S.
Implementation Challenges: The challenges that arise when implementing affirmative action policies, such as identifying qualified candidates, setting targets and benchmarks, and measuring the success of the programs.
Public Opinion and Political Debates: The varying opinions among the public and political groups on affirmative action policies, and the political debates that have arisen around the issue.
Global Perspective: The international context of affirmative action policies and how different countries have approached issues of diversity and inclusion in workplaces and education.
Future of Affirmative Action: The current status of affirmative action policies in the United States, potential changes and reforms, and the role of affirmative action in shaping the future of race relations and diversity.
Recruitment: This type of affirmative action promotes hiring practices aimed at attracting and selecting underrepresented groups to the workforce.
Outreach: The outreach programs promote opportunities among underrepresented groups to enable them to seek training, educational opportunities, or employment programs.
Quotas: This kind of affirmative action establishes the required number or percentage of employees, students, or other groups within a company or institution that should be part of an underrepresented group.
Preferential treatment: Preferential treatment involves giving preference to underrepresented groups in aspects such as hiring or promotions, even at the cost of better-qualified candidates from overrepresented groups.
Financial aid: Affirmative action that provides financial aid to underrepresented groups in the form of scholarships, grants, and other programs that support their education or career aspirations.
Diversity training: This type of affirmative action emphasizes courses and workshops aimed at educating and training individuals about the importance of a diverse workforce and how to promote inclusive workplace cultures.
Retention: Retention initiatives are affirmative actions aimed at providing support to members of underrepresented groups already employed or enrolled in a school to encourage them to remain and achieve successful careers or academic pursuits.
"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 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, 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."
"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."
"An alternative approach, common in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe, is positive action. 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 police forces."
"In the United States, affirmative action is controversial and public opinion on the subject is divided."
"Supporters of affirmative action argue that it promotes equality and representation for groups which are socio-economically disadvantaged or have faced historical discrimination or oppression."
"Opponents of affirmative action have argued that it is a form of reverse discrimination, that it tends to benefit the most privileged within minority groups at the expense of the least fortunate within majority groups, or that—when applied to universities—it can hinder minority students by placing them in courses for which they have not been adequately prepared."
"In June 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States decided a landmark case, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, holding race-conscious college admissions processes to be unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause."
"However, the ruling does not explicitly apply to U.S. military academies, and it allows for students to discuss race in the context of 'how race affected the applicant's life, so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability that the particular applicant can contribute to the university.'" Please note that the output provided by the AI is based on existing information and does not imply personal agreement or endorsement of any viewpoint.