A634.4.3.RB - Is Affirmative Action Ethical?

When I hear the term “affirmative action”, I instantly think of the term “reverse discrimination”, but is that chain of thought justified?

“Affirmative action is often criticized for causing reverse discrimination and lowering the qualifications of those hired under the policy. However, the magnitude of such adverse effects depends on whether the best suited candidate is hired absent the policy” (Niederle et. al, 2013).

Just because reverse discrimination can occur in situations where affirmative action is in place, does not mean that affirmative action always causes reverse discrimination. As stated above affirmative action only causes reverse discrimination when the best and most qualified candidate is not hired. With this in mind, can we begin to dive into the ethicalness of affirmative action? In my own perspective I see affirmative action as working well and morally when pulling together candidates for a position or a spot at a university. What I do not perceive affirmative action as ethical would be if a candidate was chosen over a more qualified candidate due to their race. Yes, having a diverse workplace or university is an essential imperative, but is it worth lower they expectations of one candidate over another? In doing so, this action sounds a lot like racism as defined in our text. As out text defines racism as occurring when a group of individuals is singled out and given lower expectations then another (LaFollette, 2007).  

In my own personal experience, I do have a relationship with affirmative action as I am Hispanic. When I applied to college, I certainly made my heritage known by checking the box. The exact same applied when I applied for any job, I was able to identify myself as Hispanic, in the hopes that the workplaces’ need for diversity would give my application a bit of a boost or advantage. Of course I am going to take advantage of the affirmative action system that is in place, but that does not mean I think its ethical. Honestly, as affirmative action makes me wonder why I might deserve an advantage over other applicants and I come to a blank. I do not want to be held to a lower standard because of my heritage, instead I rather only receive admission or the job if I am truly the best applicant. And the unsettling truth is I will never know if I was the best candidate or not because of affirmative action and its impact.

References

LaFollette, H. (2007). The Practice of Ethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Niederle, M., Segal, C., & Vesterlund, L. (2013). How costly is diversity? Affirmative action in light of gender differences in competitiveness. Management Science, 59(1), 1-16.