positive discrimination

social policies encouraging favourable treatment of socially disadvantaged ‘minority’ groups, especially in employment, education and housing. These policies aim to reverse historical trends of DISCRIMINATION and to create EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY. The term is roughly synonymous with affirmative action and reverse discrimination.

In the US, where affirmative action programmes have been in operation since the 1964 Civil Rights Act, these policies have created considerable controversy and litigation. In defending the concept of positive discrimination, President Lyndon Johnson said, ‘You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say, “you are free to compete with all the others", and still justly believe that you have been completely fair’.

The arguments of those opposed to positive discrimination can be represented by the views of Glazer (1975), who argues that affirmative action ‘has meant that we abandon the first principle of a liberal society, that the individual's interests and good and welfare are the test of a good society, for now we attach benefits and penalties to individuals simply on the basis of their race, color, and national origins.’

Despite calls for programmes of positive discrimination in the UK, it remains illegal under existing Sex Discrimination and Race Relations Acts.

Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000

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References in periodicals archive

While Foucault's approach enables us to attend to issues of subjectivity and historical knowledge/power relations in ways that are useful for our investigation of the positive discrimination measures, the centrality of Indigenous people to our inquiry requires further framing.

POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION AS DISCOURSE: A METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH FOR STUDYING AUSTRALIAN AND CHILEAN INDIGENOUS EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES/DISCRIMINACAO POSITIVA COMO DISCURSO: UM ENFOQUE METODOLOGICO PARA O ESTUDO DAS EXPERIENCIAS EDUCATIVAS INDIGENAS AUSTRALIANAS E CHILENAS

If you had not heard of Positive Discrimination Week before that is because I only made it up yesterday.

Glorious yellow weed a symbol of culture that grows up through the cracks of the pavement

There are also separate (and specific) positive discrimination provisions in the DIFC Employment Law such as reduced working hours for fasting Muslim employees during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

EQUALITY IN THE DIFC

There''s no positive discrimination when it comes to times like these.

TWEETS & POSTS

Positive discrimination or temporary special measures may sometimes be needed, and this is different, therefore cannot be considered as discrimination as such, in order to bring disadvantaged or marginalized persons or groups of persons to the same substantive level as others.

Principle of non-discrimination and equitable representation in framework agreement ten years after--formal or substantive equality?!

This pernicious, fascist charter (positive discrimination in favour of women political candidates) should be fed to the shredder.

Fascist charter shouldbebinned; Letters letters@coventrytelegraph.net

A resolution on the role of women in an ageing society, adopted in plenary on 7 September in Strasbourg, recommends positive discrimination for older women.

POPULATION AGEING : PARLIAMENT ADDRESSES SITUATION OF OLDER WOMEN

Positive discrimination was meant to prevent people being judged by the colour of their skin.

Cop-out allows Ali to scale Dizaei heights

A lack of positive discrimination in favor of girls' education in Yemen's educational policies and projects is one of the main reasons behind the significant gender gap in the Yemeni education system.<p>This was concluded in an analytical report on educational gender indicators for the year 2008.

Lack of gender specific planning behind high gender gap in education

The government said that positive discrimination towards the region would continue.

TURKEY-PRESS SCAN (3)

The articles address the process and intent of paying the social debt owed to the marginalized, a political analysis of positive discrimination, fair access to education for OBCs, assumptions and real data on OBCs, alternative equal opportunity policies, the reasons OBCs should have reserved positions, the state and equal opportunity policies, the merits of inclusive policies, and the deepening separation of the better-off and the worse-off.

In search of inclusive policy; addressing graded inequality