affirmative action

/əˌfʌrmədɪv ˌækʃən/

/əˈfʌmətɪv ˈækʃɪn/

Other forms: affirmative actions

Affirmative action is a policy that some businesses, schools, and universities use to improve the choices for people whose race, religion, or economic group might otherwise put them at a disadvantage.

When a student belongs to a group that has historically suffered from discrimination, affirmative action can give her a head start and help make educational and job opportunities available to her. Affirmative action is an attempt to balance things out and to undo the damage caused by discrimination in the past. The term affirmative action has been around since 1935, but it didn't refer specifically to racial groups until the 1960s.

Definitions of affirmative action

1. noun

   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”

   type of:

   social action

   a social policy of reform (especially socioeconomic reform)