Affirmative action in the United States
Updated: 5/20/2026, 7:31:03 PM Wikipedia source
In the United States, affirmative action consists of government-mandated, government-approved, and voluntary private programs granting special consideration to groups considered or classified as historically excluded, specifically racial minorities and women. These programs tend to focus on access to education and employment in order to redress the disadvantages associated with past and present discrimination. Another goal of affirmative action policies is to ensure that public institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and police forces, are more representative of the populations they serve. As of 2024, affirmative action rhetoric has been increasingly replaced by emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Nine states explicitly ban its use in the employment process and it was banned in college admissions nationwide by the Supreme Court in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard in 2023.
Tables
College Acceptance Rates (2005) · Arguments against affirmative action › Bias
Harvard
Harvard
Col 1
Harvard
Overall Acceptance Rate
10 %
Black Acceptance Rate
16 %
% Difference
+ 67 %
MIT
MIT
Col 1
MIT
Overall Acceptance Rate
15 %
Black Acceptance Rate
31 %
% Difference
+ 98 %
Brown
Brown
Col 1
Brown
Overall Acceptance Rate
16 %
Black Acceptance Rate
26 %
% Difference
+ 58 %
Penn
Penn
Col 1
Penn
Overall Acceptance Rate
21 %
Black Acceptance Rate
30 %
% Difference
+ 42 %
Georgetown
Georgetown
Col 1
Georgetown
Overall Acceptance Rate
22 %
Black Acceptance Rate
30 %
% Difference
+ 39 %
| Overall Acceptance Rate | Black Acceptance Rate | % Difference | |
| Harvard | 10 % | 16 % | + 67 % |
| MIT | 15 % | 31 % | + 98 % |
| Brown | 16 % | 26 % | + 58 % |
| Penn | 21 % | 30 % | + 42 % |
| Georgetown | 22 % | 30 % | + 39 % |
Medical School Acceptance Rates (2009–11) · Arguments against affirmative action › Bias
Asian
Asian
Col 1
Asian
MCAT 24–26, GPA 3
7 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
17 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
30 %
White
White
Col 1
White
MCAT 24–26, GPA 3
12 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
24 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
35 %
Hispanic
Hispanic
Col 1
Hispanic
MCAT 24–26, GPA 3
36 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
54 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
68 %
Black
Black
Col 1
Black
MCAT 24–26, GPA 3
67 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
83 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
85 %
| MCAT 24–26, GPA 3 | MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3 | MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3 | |
| Asian | 7 % | 17 % | 30 % |
| White | 12 % | 24 % | 35 % |
| Hispanic | 36 % | 54 % | 68 % |
| Black | 67 % | 83 % | 85 % |
Medical School Acceptance Rates (2013–15) · Arguments against affirmative action › Bias
Asian
Asian
Col 1
Asian
MCAT 24–26, GPA 3 –3
6 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
13 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
20 %
White
White
Col 1
White
MCAT 24–26, GPA 3 –3
8 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
19 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
30 %
Hispanic
Hispanic
Col 1
Hispanic
MCAT 24–26, GPA 3 –3
30 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
43 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
61 %
Black
Black
Col 1
Black
MCAT 24–26, GPA 3 –3
58 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
75 %
MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3
81 %
| MCAT 24–26, GPA 3 –3 | MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3 | MCAT 27–29, GPA 3 –3 | |
| Asian | 6 % | 13 % | 20 % |
| White | 8 % | 19 % | 30 % |
| Hispanic | 30 % | 43 % | 61 % |
| Black | 58 % | 75 % | 81 % |
References
- Regents was subsequently affirmed in Gratz v. Bollinger (2003), decided concurrently with Grutter.
- BalancedPoliticshttp://www.ncsl.org/research/education/affirmative-action-overview.aspx#3
- The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethicshttps://doi.org/10.1093%2Foxfordhb%2F9780199284238.003.0012
- Perspectiveshttp://www.rcgd.isr.umich.edu/prba/
- The global gender pay gaphttp://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/gap-1.pdf
- Supporting diversity works: African American male and female employment in six Florida citieshttps://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/18/37134799/Supporting-Diversity-Works-African-American-Male-and-Female-Employment-in-Six-Florida-Cities
- whitehousehttps://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/presidential-proclamation-national-equal-pay-day
- "Median Weekly Earnings, by sex and race"https://web.archive.org/web/20100527190227/http://www.dol.gov/wb/factsheets/Qf-ESWM08.htm
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophyhttps://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2013/entries/affirmative-action/
- Anderson, Elizabeth S.http://www-personal.umich.edu/~eandersn/biblio.htm
- Nino Monea, "Next on the Chopping Block: The Litigation Campaign against Race-Conscious Policies Beyond Affirmative Actihttps://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/6gznx/download
- Schwarzschild, Maimon and Heriot, Gail L., Race Preferences, Diversity, and Students for Fair Admissions: A New Day, a Nhttps://ssrn.com/abstract=4696900
- Robert J. Weiss, "Affirmative Action: A Brief History" Journal of intergroup relations (1987), 15 p .
- UC Davis Law Reviewhttps://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3312518
- Journal of Economic Perspectiveshttps://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.169.4115
- The Pursuit of Fairness: A History of Affirmative Actionhttps://archive.org/details/pursuitoffairnes00ande/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater
- dolhttps://web.archive.org/web/20091128110029/http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/aa.htm
- king5https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/state-politics/inslee-lifts-affirmative-action-ban-in-washington/281-f2b1bfc1-8b31-434c-8c11-809c6823d0f3
- "What Can We Learn from States That Ban Affirmative Action?"https://tcf.org/content/commentary/what-can-we-learn-from-states-that-ban-affirmative-action/
- "Why might states ban affirmative action?"https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2019/04/12/why-might-states-ban-affirmative-action/