Short essay on Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action Major issues surrounding affirmative action question if this policy violates individual rights or if its necessary in creating an equal society. Affirmative action is a program that takes the sex or race of an individual into account when hiring in order to balance the number of minorities and whites. The moral issues for this heated topic of debate include whether affirmative action produces illegal quotas, gives favored treatment to minorities, or if this …

…into the system without affirmative action. Anti-supporters also argue that using affirmative action in schools and jobs is wrong because it gives an unfair advantage to minorities. They believe that women and minorities have to be judged on merit just like everyone else. "Affirmative action programs are intended to enhance racial and sexual equality, but you can't do that by treating people unequally. If equality is the goal, it must be the means, too" (p. 324).