Do We Need Affirmative Action in Our Institutions?

The following exercise is a look at the modern-day use of affirmative action. The exposition touches on the impacts of removing the use of affirmative action in our academic spaces, and what successes and losses can arise from policies that minimize experience of marginalized communities. As understood by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, affirmative action “means positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and culture from which they have been historically excluded (2001).” Within the discussion of affirmative action, much debate arises. These (positive) steps taken to introduce more minorities in different highly-regarded spaces in society – whether that be in employment, our education systems, and typically, white-held spaces. This preferential selection can be viewed as a necessary movement or creating quarrels depending on the individual.