Affirmative action is a policy in which an individual’s color, race, sex, religion or national origin are considered to increase opportunities provided to an underrepresented part of society. In the United States, affirmative action came about in the 1960s to promote equal opportunity across various segments of society. The policy was developed to enforce the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which sought to eliminate discrimination. 

While this policy was originally designed to enforce this Act, affirmative action has increased its scope of groups targeted for assistance to include gender representation, people with disabilities, and veterans. 

The implementation of affirmative action has drawn both support and criticism. Proponents of this policy argue that this effort must continue due to the low diversity in positions of authority, representation in the media, and limited acknowledgment of the achievements of underrepresented groups. Opponents argue that such policies can hinder the prosperity of the groups they were meant to help. The cost of such programs, along with the belief that affirmative action forces people to make “unwarranted” accommodations, drives a significant part of the opposition.  

A key area where affirmative action is in place, and a topic of conversation, is in college admissions. Many universities follow this policy—affirmative action can be seen in programs and scholarships targeted specifically for minorities/underserved populations. The purpose of such programs is to increase the representation of such groups in certain fields of study. However, while these programs were introduced with good intentions, there is the stance that argues that this type of affirmative action in turn impacts other populations of individuals. Critics argue that, in the case of college admissions, there can be too much leniency in the criteria for acceptance. The graphic below illustrates this view. 

This study analyzed the SAT scores of the accepted applicant pool to Harvard University. This study gave rise to a longstanding argument that affirmative action is a misguided progressive policy to help black and Hispanic individuals while unfairly penalizing Asian and white individuals. For example, a federal investigation unveiled documents that showed admissions officers at Princeton University stereotyped many of Asian-American applicants, writing derogatory comments in their reports such as labels like “standard premeds.”  

While these statements have been made, there have been studies that show that affirmative action has not necessarily decreased an Asian-American’s likelihood of getting into a prestigious university/program. The graphic below illustrates this argument. 

This predictive analysis shows that the expected and actual outcome of Asian-American students enrolled at Harvard University were comparable (83 expected enrollment, 84 actual enrollment).  

While there is data that supports and refute the affirmative argument, it is critical to realize that there is much to be discussed regarding the implementation of this policy.