Affirmative Action Benefits

A recent Affirmative Action case has been brought up to the Supreme Court of The United States. While the case is specific to the use of race-based decisions as part of college admissions, the core issue deals with fairness. Affirmative Action defined by Merriam-Webster is: “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.” Affirmative Action essentially is a tool to elevate, to include, and to offer opportunities to those who otherwise would not have an opportunity, and no fault of their own. In fact, according to data from many studies, Affirmative Action as a policy has more benefits than costs (Crosby et al., 2003).

Not only does Affirmative Action offer opportunities for those who historically have been excluded, it aims to increase diversity in educational institutions and the workplace. The benefits of diversity is that diverse teams tend to out-perform homogeneous teams when it comes to new products and innovation (Nathan & Lee, 2013) and increased profit ranging from 40-60% according to a study reported by McKinsey & Company. In the academic setting, students in diverse workgroups produce higher quality ideas and are better at problem solving (Phillips, Liljenquist, & Neale, 2009).

Another issue that has become more popular is the concept of Implicit Bias. Implicit bias is when, ”we have a bias…rather than being neutral, we have a preference for (or aversion to) a person or group of people“. Some of the most examined studies with implicit bias investigate racial attitudes such as “studies that show that white people will frequently associate criminality with black people without even realizing they’re doing it.” These types of biases are damaging to groups and society as a whole. Though these harmful biases exist, according to the APA podcast episode on implicit bias with Dr. Mahzarin Banaji, beneficial changes can occur. However, it requires sustained change at the societal and system level. Therefore, one looks to laws and policies within organizations, institutions, and government, hence policies such as Affirmative Action.

The benefits of Affirmative Action are well documented by research. To further illustrate, the role of Affirmative Action can be seen in aiding the health of society and groups. Studies on “Affirmative Action have shown that Black and Latino graduates of medical schools are more likely than White counterparts to serve underserved populations (Crosby et al., 2003).” So, if we value a healthy society, as it was quoted by Mahatma Gandhi, “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive.”

References:

1. Crosby, F. J., Iyer, A., Clayton, S., & Downing, R. A. (2003). Affirmative action: Psychological data and the policy debates. American Psychologist, 58(2), 93–115. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.58.2.93

2. Max Nathan & Neil Lee (2013) Cultural Diversity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: Firm-level Evidence from London, Economic Geography, 89:4, 367-394, DOI: 10.1111/ecge.12016

3. Phillips, K. W., Liljenquist, K. A., & Neale, M. A. (2009). Is the Pain Worth the Gain? The Advantages and Liabilities of Agreeing With Socially Distinct Newcomers. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(3), 336–350. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167208328062

Resources:

1. Implicit Association Test (IAT) - https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html

2. APA Podcast on Implicit Bias - https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/implicit-biases

Recommended Books:

1. Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald