Affirmative Action

Why is Affirmative Action Necessary?

Although explicit measures indicate that sexism and racism are in decline, subtle forms of bias continue to persist. These subtle biases may take the form of unintended preferences for white males. Indeed, white [Page 19]males continue to earn more and are more often promoted compared with women and minorities. One way affirmative action reduces the impact of unintended bias is by implementing monitoring systems within organizations. Monitoring involves examining organizational data (i.e., hiring decisions) on the basis of race and gender as a way to identify inequality before problems arise.

Attitudes toward Affirmative Action

Attitudes toward affirmative action vary based on individual differences and conceptualizations of the policy. Perhaps not surprisingly, race, gender, and prejudice level affect attitudes toward affirmative action: Whites, males, and those high in racism and sexism tend to oppose affirmative action. Attitudes also vary based on definitions of the policy: People who view affirmative action as unfair preferential treatment of women and minorities are more negative toward the policy, whereas people who have a more accurate understanding of affirmative action generally have more positive attitudes. Overall though, public opinion polls indicate general support for affirmative action programs.

Effects of Affirmative Action

Affirmative action has had its intended effect: More women and minorities are participating in the workforce and higher education, leading to increased diversity in our society's institutions. Empirical evidence suggests diversity benefits all—not just women and minorities. Diversity exposes people to new perspectives and can facilitate creative problem solving. Perhaps most importantly, diverse settings give people practice with intergroup interactions—which can often be anxiety provoking—and consequently increase the likelihood of future intergroup interactions.

There are potential costs to affirmative action, most notably, the potential for others to view beneficiaries of affirmative action as incompetent. Laboratory research suggests that this may occur only when beneficiaries are believed to have been selected solely on their race or gender. In reality, race and gender are considered in conjunction with merit. Perhaps as a reflection of this, surveys conducted in workplace settings suggest coworkers do not view affirmative action hires negatively. Together, research suggests that organizations can diminish potential negative effects by educating their employees and dispelling myths about affirmative action polices.