affirmative action

noun

: 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

Note: Affirmative action gives limited preference to qualified groups (which may include racial and ethnic minorities, women, older people, people with disabilities, and some veterans) in job hiring, admission to institutions of higher education, the awarding of government contracts, and other social benefits.

The term affirmative action was … used in an executive order issued by President Johnson in 1965, which banned all federal contractors and subcontractors, as well as unions involved in federal work, from practicing employment discrimination.

—Michael L. Levine

Unlike previous measures, such as the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, which prohibited discrimination, the goal of affirmative action was to adopt a proactive approach to redressing past discrimination. It goes beyond the prohibition of overtly racist practices by requiring employers, public contractors, and college admissions officers to cast a wider net in their searches for qualified workers and students through active recruitment of racial minorities.

—Shirley J. Yee et al.

Examples of affirmative action in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Newsom has thrown himself behind progressive stances on affirmative action, crime, and reparations, having recently signed a bill to create an agency that will deliver restitution to the descendants of slaves. —Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026

Jackson maintained her position for nearly two decades before accepting a demotion in 1979 to become both the federal women’s program manager and the affirmative action program manager. —Nicole Briese, PEOPLE, 19 Jan. 2026

Last week, the agency also filed a lawsuit against Minnesota, in an effort to bring down the state's affirmative action hiring policies for its agencies. —Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 18 Jan. 2026

Nationally, data released by more than a dozen elite universities have shown that colleges, in the absence of affirmative action, are enrolling more low-income students who are eligible for Pell Grants. —Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for affirmative action

• abstraction
• attraction
• compaction
• contraction
• detraction
• diffraction
• distraction
• exaction
• extraction
• impaction
• inaction
• infraction

Kids Definition

affirmative action

noun

: the use of laws, policies, and programs giving limited preference to qualified minority groups and women to improve educational and employment opportunities as a remedy to the effects of long-standing discrimination

Legal Definition

affirmative action

noun

: an active effort (as through legislation) to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups or women