affirmative action

noun

: the use of policies, legislation, programs, and procedures to improve the educational or employment opportunities of members of certain demographic groups (such as minority groups, women, and older people) as a remedy to the effects of long-standing discrimination against such groups

Note: Affirmative action gives limited preference to qualified groups (which may include racial and ethnic minorities, women, older people, people with disabilities, and some veterans) in job hiring, admission to institutions of higher education, the awarding of government contracts, and other social benefits.

The term affirmative action was … used in an executive order issued by President Johnson in 1965, which banned all federal contractors and subcontractors, as well as unions involved in federal work, from practicing employment discrimination.

—Michael L. Levine

Unlike previous measures, such as the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, which prohibited discrimination, the goal of affirmative action was to adopt a proactive approach to redressing past discrimination. It goes beyond the prohibition of overtly racist practices by requiring employers, public contractors, and college admissions officers to cast a wider net in their searches for qualified workers and students through active recruitment of racial minorities.

—Shirley J. Yee et al.

Examples of affirmative action in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But the landscape has shifted including a Supreme Court decision against affirmative action and the election of President Donald Trump, who ordered the federal government to end its diversity programs. —Arriana McLymore and Siddharth Cavale, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025

The death of affirmative action has been greatly exaggerated. —Ian Kingsbury, National Review, 27 Jan. 2025

But conservatives like Trump have used those words to try to fool us into believing that one of the most famous and righteous Black men in this nation’s history was against affirmative action and anything that has to do with diversity, equity and inclusion. —Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 26 Jan. 2025

President Trump issued a sweeping executive order Tuesday night revoking decades of diversity and affirmative action practices in federal government. —Russell Contreras, Axios, 22 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

affirmative action

noun

: the use of laws, policies, and programs giving limited preference to qualified minority groups and women to improve educational and employment opportunities as a remedy to the effects of long-standing discrimination

Legal Definition

affirmative action

noun

: an active effort (as through legislation) to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups or women