affirmative action

A policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination through active measures to ensure equal opportunity, as in education and employment.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

affirmative action

(Sociology) US a policy or programme designed to counter discrimination against minority groups and women in areas such as employment and education. Brit equivalent: positive discrimination

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

affirm′ative ac′tion

a policy to increase opportunities for women and minorities, esp. in employment.

[1960–65]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

affirmative action - a policy designed to redress past discrimination against women and minority groups through measures to improve their economic and educational opportunities; "affirmative action has been extremely controversial and was challenged in 1978 in the Bakke decision"

social action - a social policy of reform (especially socioeconomic reform)

Translations

مَوْقِف إيجَابِي مُؤَيِّد

Bevorzugung

discrimination positive

esélyteremtés

programma assistenziale

kjønnskvotering positiv diskriminering

针对受到不平待遇的少数族群或女性的赞助性行为或平权行动

affirm

(əˈfəːm) verb

to state something positively and firmly. Despite all the policeman's questions the lady continued to affirm that she was innocent.

ˌaffirˈmation (ӕ-) noun

afˈfirmative (-tiv) adjective, noun

saying or indicating yes to a question, suggestion etc. He gave an affirmative nod; a reply in the affirmative.

affirmative ˌaction noun

(American) the practice of giving better opportunities (jobs, education etc) to people who, it is thought, are treated unfairly (minorities, women etc).

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References in periodicals archive

Bollinger cases, newspaper articles and press releases, as well as sociological and statistical surveys of Jews in higher education all suggest that official explanations provided by the Jewish communal groups are insufficient to explain the observed shift in stance on affirmative action between 1978 and the present.

The American Jewish Affirmative Action About-Face

-- A majority of Americans say they favor affirmative action programs.

Higher Support for Gender Affirmative Action Than Race

What this means in relation to race-based affirmative action was made clear by the U.S.

Affirmative action: a major requirement: by removing unconscious discrimination from the admissions process, universities can give all students an equal chance of acceptance

Rather than defend the practice of race-conscious affirmative action that helps underrepresented minorities gain admission into highly selective colleges and universities, Cashin instead pushes for a form of affirmative action that's based on structural disadvantage, or place, that a student must overcome to attain a high-quality education.

An end to affirmative action? In her new book, law professor Sheryll Cashin pushes for a fresh look at affirmative action

ERIC Descriptors: Affirmative Action; Student Diversity; Simulation; Models; Competitive Selection; Reputation; Colleges; Enrollment; Enrollment Trends; Evidence; Program Effectiveness; Access to Information; College Admission; College Applicants; Socioeconomic Status; Racial Factors; Court Litigation; Racial Composition; Income

Simulation Models of the Effects of Race- and Socioeconomic-Based Affirmative Action Policies on Elite College Enrollment Patterns

In the midst of those current debates, we aim to understand the moral grounding of affirmative action policies, how much did they change the world of politics and can they really help Egypt?

Does Egypt Need Affirmative Action?

Although many tend to think of opposition to affirmative action programs as beginning in 1978 with the US Supreme Court case Regents of the U.

Protesting affirmative action; the struggle over equality after the civil rights revolution

To him, affirmative action is a fundamentally unfair policy.

Race matters: the Supreme Court has agreed to reconsider the use of race in college admissions

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 passed eventually, but not before Bush put a new impediment in the way of affirmative action. He nominated Clarence Thomas, a vehement enemy of affirmative action, to replace Thurgood Marshall on the Supreme Court.

The enduring relevance of affirmative action

The judicial rules regarding affirmative action center around two areas.

An examination of affirmative action, diversity and justice