Affirmative Action

The main objective of affirmative action is to reverse some situations of injustice women and Blacks have suffered in the past, so they can make up for opportunities they had been deprived of. However, it’s not obvious that affirmative action always achieve this goal. Sometimes, it just helps perpetuate the very situation it was supposed to fight.

Thanks to some great changes that have occurred in our society, more and more Blacks and women are climbing the social ladder, whereas being White no longer means being privileged. On the basis of affirmative action, being Black or female automatically opens some doors, while being White closes them. As a result, a great number of needy white people are being denied some much needed assistance, while some wealthy Blacks are being treated like poor, enjoying opportunities other people need way more than they do.

I think that the formulation of Affirmative Action must change today, in order to adapt to the new reality of our evolving world where the only thing that doesn’t change is the fact that change affects all aspects of our lives. If it is to be defendable, Affirmative Action must become color and gender blind to focus on the cases of its clientele by taking into account their financial situation rather than their gender or race.