Affirmative action | Definition, History, & Cases | Britannica

Affirmative action in the United States is the active effort to improve employment, educational, and other opportunities for members of groups that have been subjected to discrimination. Criteria for affirmative action include race, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, and age. Affirmative action in the United States protects people on the grounds of race, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, and age. It does this by giving limited preferences to groups that have faced long-standing discrimination in job hiring, admission to institutions of higher education, the awarding of government contracts, and other social benefits. As a government remedy in the United States, affirmative action has been the subject of numerous legal challenges that have determined where and how it is applied. The hiring practices of federal contractors, including public universities, are subject to affirmative action. Few U.S. states require private colleges

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