how affirmative action works
the main purpose of affirmative action is to diversify various parts of society the government backed policy was developed to provide inadequately represented groups of people with access to opportunities in academia the private workforce and government jobs these opportunities have included admission to schools jobs in professional positions and access to housing and financing 2the affirmative action policy rose to prominence in the united states in the 1960s as a way to promote equal opportunity for various segments of society the policy was developed to enforce the civil rights act of 1964 which sought to eliminate discrimination 3early implementations of affirmative action largely focused on halting the continued social segregation of minorities and other disadvantaged individuals from institutions and opportunities despite legislation that outlawed discrimination practices in the u s tangible change in the status quo was not immediate 3in more recent years campaigns have expanded to make organizations and institutions even more inclusive by pushing for greater gender diversity newer policies are also aimed at providing more access to opportunities for covered veterans and people with disabilities in 2023 however the u s supreme court issued a landmark decision in students for fair admissions v harvard that held that race based affirmative action programs in college admissions violate the 14th amendment s equal protection clause 1 and in the ruling for students for fair admissions v the university of north carolina companion case the court overruled the previous precedent set in grutter v bollinger and regents of the university of california v bakke that had previously validated some affirmative action in college admissions allowed for race to hold a limited role in decision making by college administrators 45covered veterans are veterans who are disabled who served on active duty in a war or other campaign and have a campaign badge or a service medal or who are recently separated from the armed forces elements of affirmative actionefforts to stimulate change have taken the form of financial assistance such as grants scholarships and other support earmarked to help with access to higher education opportunities in addition hiring practices may be structured to require the inclusion of diverse candidates for consideration for job openings government agencies may mandate that companies and institutions populate their ranks with a minimum percentage of qualified professionals from varying ethnicities genders and cultures failure to meet such requirements could disqualify institutions from receiving government funding or being able to compete for public contracts people confuse employment equity with affirmative action there s a distinct difference between the two employment equity attempts to ensure that all individuals are treated equally while affirmative action actually supports those people in particular who historically have been denied opportunities examples of affirmative actionaffirmative action has been put to work since the 1960s despite a lack of progress at times and rulings by legal authorities such as the supreme court that have hindered it here are some examples of the policy in action advantages and disadvantages of affirmative actionthe implementation and continued use of affirmative action policies have drawn strong support as well as staunch criticism an obvious benefit of affirmative action is the opportunities it provides to people who otherwise might not have them these opportunities include access to education for students who may be disadvantaged and career advancement for employees who may be blocked from rising up the corporate ladder proponents of affirmative action say that the effort must continue because of the low percentages of diversity in positions of authority and in the media as well as limited acknowledgment of the achievements of marginalized or unrepresented groups opponents of affirmative action frequently call these efforts a collective failure they cite as evidence the tiny changes to the status quo after decades of effort the cost of such programs coupled with a belief that affirmative action forces the populace to make unwarranted accommodations drives a significant part of the opposition certain individuals believe that there is little or no bias in society they argue that affirmative action results in reverse discrimination which can often lead to qualified candidates being overlooked in academics and the workplace in favor of less qualified candidates who meet policy standards provides opportunities for minorities and people from disadvantaged groupsdiversifies societycosts to implement policies can be too highdraws focus from a person s merits or achievementsaffirmative action statisticsaffirmative action is a very controversial topic and often leads to heated debates between those who support it and people who feel it doesn t benefit society is there a way to quantify how people feel and how it s working according to a gallup poll more than half of americans 61 believe in affirmative action policies this level of support has increased since the last poll where only 47 to 50 of individuals thought affirmative action was necessary this increase in support is especially important given the active issues surrounding race and identity in the u s and elsewhere 8many americans feel positive about diversity they are comfortable with the makeup of their communities saying diversity positively impacts society as a whole there is some division when it comes to identifying race and ethnicity for purposes of hiring in fact about 74 of individuals feel that a candidate s racial or ethnic background shouldn t be considered when hiring or promoting them they believe these activities should only be based on someone s merit and qualifications 9