Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action

Refers to policies which favour people from different areas of society in order to increase representation, taking factors such as race, religion, gender and sexual orientation into account in order to increase the presence of such groups in business, education and other areas. Affirmative action policies usually rely on quotas, designating that a certain percentage of participants in business, government or educational establishments must be of a certain race, gender, etc. Affirmative action is a controversial practice, with opponents arguing that it devalues the accomplishments of “minorities”. Some view affirmative action as reverse discrimination. Others see this as a way of preserving minority cultures.