quota system

noun

1. a system, originally determined by legislation in 1921, of limiting by nationality the number of immigrants who may enter the U.S. each year.

2. a policy of limiting the number of minority group members in a business firm, school, etc.

3. any hiring or admissions policy requiring that a specified number or percentage of minority group members be hired or admitted.

Word History and Origins

Origin of quota system¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

The EU says Brussels and Washington will work to cut that number and that they will be replaced by a quota system to come beyond 1 August.

From BBC

However, the EU Commission president has also suggested that Brussels and Washington remain in talks about a quota system, whereby EU steel exports under the quota would also be subject to a lower rate.

From BBC

For decades, the US, European Union and Canada had in place a quota system that reserved a certain share of their markets for developing countries like Sri Lanka.

From BBC

Attorney Shayla Myers, who represents homeless advocacy groups that have intervened in the case, has opposed the 9,800 goal from the beginning, saying it creates a quota system that increases the likelihood that city workers will violate the property rights of unhoused residents.

From Los Angeles Times

She pushed back on the notion that the city should be required to remove a specific number of encampments, which she argued would amount to an illegal quota system that violates the property rights of homeless Angelenos.

From Los Angeles Times