Problems with Affirmative Action

What are the problems with Affirmative Action?

Problems with Affirmative Action is reverse discrimination and the past discrimination against certain minority groups does not justify present discrimination against non-minorities. All people are equal under the laws of the United States of America and should be treated accordingly.

It destroys the idea of a meritocracy and instead puts race as the dominant factor in admissions and hiring procedures. The best people for the position should be put there, regardless of race.

Often times students/workers who are put into a position through affirmative action often are not fully ready for the task. Not only is this not good for the university/company, but it is also not good for these students/workers as well because it lowers self-esteem.

Affirmative action reinforces stereotypes and racism because of the previous point. People given a position purely because of affirmative action often are not qualified, and the idea that all people of that race must be “stupid” is perpetuated. Also, it presupposes that all people of the same skin color are from the lower class, and therefore need help. This also reinforces stereotypes and even embeds them permanently into the system.

Simply having people of different races or ethnicities in the workplace/university does not necessarily mean diversity of opinion. People with the same skin color are not necessarily the same in opinion or even culture.

Affirmative action guidelines require covered employers to meet certain timetables for hiring and promoting minorities and women, this may coerce employers to make hiring decisions based on numbers and not the overall qualifications of the applicants. It also creates an increase in competition for well-qualified applicants within these groups.