Affirmative Action
Affirmative action – also referred to in some contexts as positive action – policies and measures designed to overcome the effects of past or continuing discrimination and to improve access to education, employment, career advancement, political representation, and other social opportunities for historically disadvantaged or underrepresented groups.
Such measures may include targeted recruitment, training and support programmes, preferential measures, representation targets, quotas, and temporary special measures. Their purpose is not merely to establish formal equality but to promote substantive equality by addressing structural barriers that prevent members of disadvantaged groups from exercising their rights and opportunities on equal terms.
In the context of gender equality, affirmative action may be used to increase women’s representation, social status, and access to resources, decision-making, education, employment, and public office.
Affirmative action is intended to counteract discrimination rather than reproduce it. However, the forms it takes, its legal status, and the conditions under which particular measures may be applied vary across countries and institutional contexts.
See also: Gender Quotas, Substantive Equality, Gender Discrimination.
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