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 ).

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

Articles in The Tech claimed that affirmative action was diluting the quality of the student pool.

From MIT Technology Review

In theory, this bias could then be accounted for via some form of algorithmic affirmative action, such as lowering the threshold for approval for minority applications.

From MIT Technology Review

After eight years of legal proceedings, Coors finally committed to affirmative action, as well as targeted recruitment and training programs for women and minorities.

From Washington Post

In a reversal of his earlier position on race, he supported affirmative action policies.

From Washington Post

The group is being represented free of charge by Pacific Legal Foundation, a California-based conservative legal group that has been sharply critical of affirmative action.

From Washington Post

A sizable number of Asian Americans feel that affirmative action, in college admissions or elsewhere, has hurt them personally.

From The Daily Beast

And Derbyshire “always assume[s] that any black person in a well-paid position is an Affirmative Action hire.”

From The Daily Beast

Politically, witness the increasing popularity of affirmative action based on class rather than race.

From The Daily Beast

The piece—an intended satire of affirmative action—was not received quite as warmly as the “I speak Jive” scene from Airplane!

From The Daily Beast

Affirmative action in college admissions has helped white women even more than people of color.

From The Daily Beast

The truth is, that in our atmosphere all affirmative action is difficult; it is hard either to be or to do.

From Project Gutenberg

He impelled her to this affirmative action by suggesting, "Would you like to have a little extra suet wrapped up with it?"

From Project Gutenberg

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