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William Johnson

Sheila Feilding

WRTC 103

26 November 2018

Position Argument

Among the many controversial issues that are at the forefront of politics, few are as relevant

in modern America as Affirmative Action. Many people claim that Affirmative Action policies,

along with other diversity quotas, actually promote inequality and hurt the American economy.

So, one must ask: “Does Affirmative Action promote gender inequality?” Affirmative Action is a

type of diversity quota that involves the preferential hiring and admission of minorities and

women. With the magnitude of law suits and even supreme court cases involving the belief that

Affirmative Action is in fact discriminatory, the very existence of the policy is in peril. Both sides

of the issue firmly believe they hold the correct belief regarding the legitimacy of Affirmative

Action. Those who oppose Affirmative Action claim that the policy promotes inequality, hinders

the quality of the American work force, puts some college students, who are admitted through

quotas, in over their heads, and is overall antiquated. Supporters of Affirmative Action believe that

the policy actually increases competition in the work force, combats discriminatory practices, and

gives women greater opportunity.

Affirmative Action is a type of diversity quota that involves the preferential hiring and

admission of minorities and women. Affirmative Action increases opportunities for minorities

and women and combats race and sex-based discrimination. In 1961, Affirmative Action was
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created to fight racial discrimination. However, in 1967, the policy was expanded to include sex-

based discrimination. Although the issue mostly comes up in regard to race issues, it has been the

subject of many law suits and supreme court cases in recent years. Most recently being the

highly publicized supreme court case regarding the alleged systematic discrimination of Asian-

Americans in the Harvard Admissions process. Those who most need to hear the argument in

favor of Affirmative Action are those who oppose the policy.

Those who oppose Affirmative Action claim that the policy promotes inequality, hinders

the quality of the American work force, puts some college students, who are admitted through

quotas, in over their heads, and is overall antiquated. In modern America, the opposing

viewpoints often stem from the belief that race and sex-based discrimination are a thing of the

past, so those who oppose the policy see it as being antiquated. Affirmative Action policies result

in “less qualified applicants because of their race, gender, or other characteristics” (Becker,

2010, para. 4). America being a meritocracy, declaring that “achievement based on merit

produces the most dynamic, innovative, and flexible economy and social structure” (2010, para.

4). The opposition makes the points that Affirmative action would lead to the acceptance of less

qualified. Accepting less qualified candidates is certainly possible, however this outcome is rare.

Additionally, the argument is made that America should be a meritocracy and yes, in an

idealistic society, merit and qualifications should be what determines achievement; however,

America is not a perfect society and diversity quotas help to level out those differences.

Supporters of Affirmative Action believe that the policy actually increases competition in

the work force, combats discriminatory practices, and gives women greater opportunity. The
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question at hand is if Affirmative Action promotes gender inequality. Many facts and statistics

support that Affirmative Action does not promote gender inequality.

Affirmative Action encourages women to apply for positions they may otherwise not

have. According to a Harvard study, Niederle et al. stated that “31% of women selected the

competitive tournament compensation scheme instead of the non-competitive piece-rate scheme,

while 74% of men selected the competitive scheme” (2013, para. 3). Additionally, it was found

that a woman’s “willingness to compete increased by 25 percentage points while men’s

willingness to compete decreased by 9 percentage points” (Niederle et al., 2013, para. 4). Overall

the study revealed that “after gender quotas were introduced, women’s propensity to enter into

potentially more lucrative competitive environments increased” (Niederle et al., 2013, para. 2).

Furthermore, Affirmative Action helps women in college admission and create more

equal opportunity for women. In 1960 “there were 1.6 males for every female graduating from

a four-year university” (Einbinder, 2017, para. 8). Einbinder also found that as a result of

Affirmative Action policies, “by 2003 the numbers reversed: women outnumbered men in

colleges, with 1.35 females for every male” (2017, para. 8). Subsequently, she concludes that

“after gender quotas were introduced, women’s propensity to enter into potentially more

lucrative competitive environments increased” (Niederle’s et al., 2013, para. 2).

Perhaps one of the strongest arguments to support Affirmative Action is that, despite the

policy being upheld in courts countless times, the Trump administration is trying to abolish

Affirmative Action, likely due to its negative effect on white people. Einbinder informs the

reader that “documents from the Justice Department indicate the Trump administration is

planning to target affirmative action on university campuses, likely arguing that it

discriminates against white college applicants” (2017, para. 1). She follows this statement by
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clearly stating that the “Trump administration wants to challenge affirmative action”

(Einbinder, 2017, para. 4). This goes to show the urgency of the issue and the audacity of the

current administration to combat an already well debated and settled issue.

Some believe that Affirmative Action still promotes equality like it was intended to,

while others think it is a backward policy that encourages inequality, however, both sides want

what they believe is best for America. America still has a long way to go regarding race and sex

inequality and Affirmative Action helps to work toward this goal. Perhaps the reduction of

certain aspects of Affirmative Action that may be considered extreme by some could be reduced.

Due to the current political climate in America, more things need to be done to mend that

divide. Currently, Affirmative Action is increasing this divide, so as a people, a compromise

must be struck. As more and more court cases come up regarding Affirmative Action, the

urgency has been ever increasing. Compromise must be reached to ensure the continuing

existence of the policy. Not addressing this issue could further contribute to the political and

social divide in America. Affirmative action must be protected so that as a society we can

overcome sex and race issues.

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Works Cited

Becker, G. (2010). Affirmative Action programs do not promote equal opportunity. Retrieved

from

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010397242/OVIC?u=viva_jmu&sid=OVIC&xid=

a26f2533

Einbinder, N. (2017). Who does Affirmative Action benefit? White women are some of its

biggest opponents. Retrieved from https://www.bustle.com/p/who-does-affirmative-

action-benefit-white-women-are-some-of-its-biggest-opponents-74034

Niederle, M., Segal, C., & Vesterlund, L. (2013). How costly is diversity? Affirmative action in

light of gender differences in competitiveness. Retrieved from

http://gap.hks.harvard.edu/how-costly-diversity-affirmative-action-light-gender-

differences-competitiveness