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Articles on Affirmative action

Displaying 1 - 20 of 87 articles

Corporate diversity efforts have resulted in more women and minorities sitting on boards. Getty Images

What the numbers say about diversity on corporate boards

Since the 1970s, corporate boards have included more women and minorities. But those gains are likely to change after a US Supreme Court ruling and increased conservative resistance.
Participants at Harvard marching at a rally protesting the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action on July 1, 2023. Ziyu Julian Zhu/Xinhua via Getty Images

Ending affirmative action does nothing to end discrimination against Asian Americans

In their lawsuits against affirmative action, Students For Fair Admission claimed to want to protect Asian Americans. A law professor explains why the Supreme Court ruling doesn’t achieve that goal.
Affirmative action for college students in Brazil led to better employment prospects for those who benefited from the policy. Cesar Okada via Getty Images

What the US can learn from affirmative action at universities in Brazil

Research has found that race-neutral policies were not enough to achieve diversity in Brazil’s higher education system. Three scholars probe what that means for the United States.
Critics of legacy admissions argue they maintain racial hierarchies that disproportionately benefit white students. YinYang/iStock via Getty Images

Support for legacy admissions is rooted in racial hierarchy

Some colleges grant preferential treatment in the admission process to children of alumni. A researcher examines what’s behind people’s support for the practice.
A person protests outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 2023. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Military academies can still consider race in admissions, but the rest of the nation’s colleges and universities cannot, court rules

Three legal experts weigh in on what the Supreme Court’s ban on race in college admissions means for students, colleges and universities, and the nation’s future.
The Supreme Court issued a decision on June 29, 2023, that ends affirmative action in college admissions. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A 2003 Supreme Court decision upholding affirmative action planted the seeds of its overturning, as justices then and now thought racism an easily solved problem

The Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate affirmative action programs sent shock waves across the US and is expected to impact racial diversity throughout society.
Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaks at the Heritage Foundation in 2021. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A diverse Supreme Court grapples with affirmative action, with its justices of color split sharply on the meaning of ‘equal protection’

Most Americans believe that racial inequality is a significant problem. They also believe that affirmative action programs aimed at reducing those inequalities are a problematic tool.
The Supreme Court is deciding a case on whether, and how, universities may consider an applicant’s race when making admissions decisions. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

What is affirmative action, anyway? 4 essential reads

Scholars explain what affirmative action is – and isn’t – as well as what its effects are, and why, among others, the military has supported it for decades.

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