Who Does the Affirmative Action Benefit and Harm?

Affirmative Action is a benefit to not only minorities and women but to the whole society. It supports equality, equal opportunity, and racial diversity. Did you know women and minorities do not have the same rights as white men?


- For every 1 dollar a man makes, a woman earns 0.70 cents.
-56 companies out of 100 had no women or Black, Latino, Asian, or American Indian representation in the highest-paid executive positions.
-The America's Recovery Capital (ARC) Loan Program provides loans of up to $35,000 to help small businesses make it through the recession. Of the nearly 4,500 loans handed out this year, 3 percent went to Hispanic-owned businesses, 3 percent went to Asian-owned businesses, and only 1.5 percent went to Black-owned businesses. More than 91 percent of these loans went to White-owned businesses. (The Leadership Conference 2010)


This shows that although affirmative action exists in majority of states, it still needs to go a long way to achieve its goal. If we ban this policy, then many dreams of minorities and  women will be shattered.  Studies show that companies have seen an increase in minority representation including Microsoft Corporation, whose minority workforce has increased from 16.8% to 25.6% in February 2003.  (Brief for Amici Curiae, 65 Leading American Businesses in Support of Respondents, Americans for a Fair Chance, 2003)


While researching, you will find statistics on both sides of the debate. There are many websites that will say affirmative action hurts white men. This can be true. I am not denying it. However, the positives outweigh the negatives. For example, in University of California, San Diego (UCSD), whites students that made up the college dropped from 40 % in 1998 to 29% in 2009. This shows that banning affirmative action does not help white students. Therefore, all in all, affirmative action is a win-win situation.