The Benefits Of Affirmative Action

Affirmative action here means programs taking the race or sex of employees or job candidates into account as part of an effort to correct imbalances in employment that exist as a result of past discrimination, either in the company itself or in the larger society. To keep the discussion relevant, it is limited to affirmative action programs that might realistically be expected to be upheld by the Supreme Court. Excluded are programs that establish rigid, permanent quotas or that hire and promote unqualified persons. Included are programs that hire or promote a woman or an African American who might not otherwise, according to established but reasonable criteria, be the best-qualified candidate.

The moral issues surrounding affirmative action are controversial. Its defenders argue that compensatory justice demands affirmative action programs; that affirmative action is needed to permit fairer competition; and that affirmative action is necessary to break the cycle that keeps minorities and women locked into poor-paying, low-prestige jobs.
Critics of affirmative action argue that affirmative action injures white men and infringes their rights; that affirmative action itself violates the principle of equality; and that nondiscrimination (without affirmative action) will suffice to achieve our social