Affirmative Action Initiatives Research Articles

Affirmative action and government initiatives to improve gender equality in India: a retrospective view

PurposeThis paper discusses the problems of gender equality in society, the workplace and the household in the specific context of India. It explicates the past and the present gender diversity initiatives by government machinery to bring gender equality through affirmative action.Design/methodology/approachThe design, methodology and approach involve a general review.FindingsDeveloped countries have taken initiatives for gender equality almost in the pre-20th century and were partially successful. Despite gender diversity and affirmative action and legislation, bias still prevails in varied forms. In the case of India, the movement for gender equality started post-independence (1947). Still, there is a high disparity between men and women in society as well as in various occupations, as it is evident through a huge difference in salary, responsibilities, perquisites, recognition and promotions offered to men and women. India needs more transformation in the culture, statutory bodies and the mindset of patriarchal societies, to achieve gender equality. The legislative changes have faced resistance in their implementation due to social, cultural and religious issues, and the expectations and perceptions toward females have not been changed by the patriarchal society.Originality/valueThis paper deciphers the gender equality movement in developing countries like India, and how the planning commission of India focuses on women’s development and government machinery tries to bring down the gender gap through affirmative action. Why, in spite of all these efforts, India is not able to minimize the gender gap and concludes with reasons and implications.

Equity initiatives for sustainable development: A comparative study of affirmative action in the USA and India

The primary objective of this paper is to analyze the affirmative action programs in India and the USA, exploring their similarities, differences, structures, and outcomes. Despite formal and structural disparities, both nations share a similar intent in implementing affirmative action policies. Over the years, affirmative action initiatives in both India and the USA have sparked intense controversy and ongoing discussions. This research aims to establish meaningful comparisons between the two affirmative action systems, evaluate their respective strengths, and offer recommendations for an improved system suitable for contemporary India. The paper adopts a theoretical approach in its analysis and reaches conclusions about which system might be more effective for India in the present context through a comparative assessment of the existing models. The voluntarily actions of the United States with broad dimensions of its coverage with special reference to the women representation is found as a new idea to relook present affirmation action programmes of India.

Affirmative Action, Paternalism, and Respect

AbstractThis article investigates the hitherto under-examined relations between affirmative action, paternalism, and respect. We provide three main arguments. First, we argue that affirmative action initiatives are typically paternalistic and thus disrespectful towards intended beneficiaries who oppose them. Second, we argue that not introducing affirmative action can be disrespectful towards these potential beneficiaries because such inaction involves a failure to recognize their moral worth adequately. Third, we argue that the paternalistic disrespect involved in affirmative action is alleviated when the potential beneficiaries' preferences against such initiatives are adaptive. We conclude that, although there is a relevant sense in which paternalistic affirmative action is disrespectful, it may be more disrespectful not to pursue such policies.

Affirmative Action Initiatives in Education and Employment: Its Necessity Then, Now and in the Future

Since its creation, affirmative action (AA) has been one of the most debated political issues in the United States and other nations such as South Africa. AA programs are, at times, seen as a tool of compensation for past discrimination toward women and particularly racial minorities. Many experts view it as an economic necessity since diverse employees can better forecast the needs of different communities. Nonetheless, some believe that AA is an obsolete and outdated practice that can lead to illegal discrimination based on race and gender. As such, it is useful to look at the rationale or purpose of AA and its impact on educational institutions and in the workplace in the U.S. and in South Africa—where its success has been celebrated—over the past four decades. AA must be about accessibility and equal access for all candidates in employment and educational opportunities, without any adverse impact on anyone, for it to be sustainable.

Where Does Ascribed Privilege Get You in? Structural and Net Effects of Caste and Religious Belonging in India

Socio-economically advantaged upper castes tend to claim that Indian society is ‘post-caste’, suggesting that individuals from historically marginalized castes and religious groups do not face specific social barriers when attempting to move into white-collar positions. Alleged intergenerational mobility and the emergence of a ‘new middle class’ related to the growth of the private sector is widely used to counter affirmative action initiatives in higher education and public-sector recruitment. In this article, I test these claims by examining Brahmin, lower caste Dalit and Muslim patterns of intergenerational class and educational mobility of father–child pairs. I point to the strong role of caste and religion in shaping one’s destination, particularly when accessing top occupational positions in the private sector. These results question the meritocratic and casteless claims of the Indian ‘new middle class’ in post-liberalization India, and they call for more encompassing policies reducing origin-based inequality.

Talking Back to the Research: Indigenous Wellbeing and Resilience Narratives from Urban Australia

ABSTRACT Resilience is instrumental in understanding the wellbeing of Indigenous peoples in colonised countries. Investigator-driven, quantitative descriptive studies can limit capacity for Indigenous people to “talk back” to the research process with their own perspectives of wellbeing and resilience. A Human Development and Capabilities approach can elicit self-determining definitions of wellbeing. This study presents findings from qualitative life history interviews of the self-defined health trajectories from a group of 11 Indigenous adults living in an Australian urban setting. In contrast to the prevailing deficit discourse, interviewees spoke about their strength and resilience. Common areas of health and wellbeing discussion such as socioeconomic disadvantage, family dysfunction, stress, problematic alcohol use and mental illness became transformed into narratives of never being without, the opportunity for upwards social mobility, the importance of family as positive role models and social support, abstinence, learning from past experiences and coping through challenges. Historical context, intergenerational trauma and racism impact wellbeing, yet are often not measured in large quantitative studies. Findings support affirmative action initiatives to reduce socioeconomic disadvantage to improve wellbeing. Narrative-based capability approaches provide contextualisation to how Indigenous people navigate through significant life events to maintain wellbeing.

“Positive discrimination doesn’t mean anything”: Understanding Black French Ambivalence toward Affirmative Action

AbstractUsing in-depth qualitative interviews with French Caribbeans of African descent (N=52) in the Paris region, this study examines minority perspectives on the possibility of racial or ethnic affirmative action in France. Through a narrative analysis of their justifications for supporting or criticizing affirmative action, we find that the majority of our respondents expressed reservations over the possibility of quotas and other affirmative action initiatives, with many describing ambivalent views and mixed emotions. In explaining their discomfort with the idea and implementation of affirmative action, respondents point to concerns over the efficacy and legitimacy of such policies, a moral defense of meritocracy, and their own reluctance to admit the failures of French Republicanism. Critics of affirmative action combine race-conscious and colorblind discourse, expressing both a challenge to colorblind notions of universalism and a nostalgic appeal to its rhetoric. With regard to migration status, we find that members of the second-generation express more ambivalent views, while members of the first generation are more emphatic in their opposition. Finally, we argue for greater attention to the dynamics of racial ambivalence in the study of anti-racism and affirmative action.

Innovation and transparency in the recruitment of women in Australian Policing

ABSTRACT This paper reviews developments in gender equity-oriented recruitment policies in Australian policing between 2015 and 2019. Findings cover the six state, one federal and one territory police departments. The study was prompted by media reports on affirmative action initiatives, especially the introduction of recruitment targets. The primary aim was to identify successful or promising strategies to increase the number of female officers, with possible transferable lessons. A secondary aim was to assess the level of accountability in terms of public reporting by police about methods and outcomes. The main finding was that four of the eight departments had introduced explicit 50:50 male-female recruitment targets, and five departments had been operating female targeted recruitment campaigns. The majority of departments with targeted campaigns recorded large increases in female recruit numbers, although within the study time frame only one showed a clear flow-through to substantially increased officer numbers. Overall, there was a lack of adequate data, including male-female application numbers; and information about selection criteria was inadequate. The personal commitment and discretion of police commissioners appeared to be a key factor in the adoption of affirmative action initiatives. These findings provide valuable lessons for improved police performance and accountability in gender equity across the world.

Racializing Captain America: How Racial Attitudes Affect Perceptions of Affirmative Action and Diversity Initiatives in Media

Is announcing a commitment to diversity enough to activate attitudes toward diversity initiatives? And what are the spillover effects of these programs? To address these questions, we conduct an experiment imbedded in a nationally representative survey of non-Hispanic White Americans ( n = 1,519). We inform respondents that the White actor who plays Captain America will be replaced, while varying whether there is a reference to a diversity initiative and whether the replacement is White or Black. We find that reference to diversity initiatives on its own has no effect but the action of displaying diversity affects marketplace preferences and attitudes toward diversity initiatives.

A Terrible Thing to Waste: Arthur Fletcher and the Conundrum of the Black Republican by David Hamilton Golland

Reviewed by: A Terrible Thing to Waste: Arthur Fletcher and the Conundrum of the Black Republican by David Hamilton Golland Angela D. Dillard A Terrible Thing to Waste: Arthur Fletcher and the Conundrum of the Black Republican. By David Hamilton Golland. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2019. Pp. [viii], 400. $39.95, ISBN 978-0-7006-2764-6.) David Hamilton Golland’s biography of Arthur Allen Fletcher (1924–2005), the influential black Republican who was the architect of the Revised Philadelphia Plan and the “‘father of affirmative action enforcement,’” reads like an American political tragedy (p. 1). Established in 1967 and revised in 1969, the Philadelphia Plan was designed to integrate segregated building construction trade unions through mandated hiring goals in federal contracts. As the government official most responsible for the revised plan, Fletcher also laid the foundations for the expansion of affirmative action initiatives during the early years of President Richard M. Nixon’s administration. Golland provides a thorough and at times plodding account of Fletcher’s life and what it tells us about the history of the Republican Party’s relationship to its African American loyalists, especially those, like Fletcher, who were major advocates for civil rights. Other scholars have mined this fraught history, particularly from the 1930s to the 1970s, but A Terrible Thing to Waste: Arthur Fletcher and the Conundrum of the Black Republican makes the party’s betrayal of its commitment to racial egalitarianism deeply personal and surprisingly vivid. This is the power of biography. The climax arrives near the middle of the book in chapter 4. “After nearly three years with the Nixon administration” as the assistant secretary of labor from 1969 to 1971, Fletcher “had redefined and enforced affirmative action and become a national figure.” “Politically, however”—and this is a dangling-on-the-edge-of-a-cliff use of the word however—“his utility to Nixon and the Republican Party was to support a very important lie the party was telling the nation: that it still stood for racial equality. By allowing Fletcher to enforce the Philadelphia Plan—within limits—the Nixon administration could say that it was continuing and expanding the civil rights initiatives of the previous administration even as it was actually curtailing civil rights policies in other areas” (p. 161). Golland interlaces the biography with scenes from the fierce battle for the soul of the party waged between its conservative and liberal wings. And while the history of conservative ascendancy is by now well-trod territory, with a number of excellent [End Page 536] studies on what that transformation meant for African Americans, Golland adds to the literature by bringing that narrative well into the 1980s and 1990s. Described by Golland as “‘loyal to a fault,’” Fletcher’s Job-like belief in the party of Abraham Lincoln is stunning (p. 163). The second half of this well-researched book follows Fletcher’s struggles to return the party to the principles of racial egalitarianism, to stop the steep decline in the percentage of the black vote garnered by Republicans, and, especially as the chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights under President George H. W. Bush, to encourage a healthy pattern of collaboration between African American leaders and the GOP on issues of mutual interest. None of these efforts were terribly successful. By the 1990s the GOP could barely claim more than 10 percent of the national black electorate. Healthy collaborations between liberals and conservatives have become vanishingly rare, and American politics overall has suffered with African Americans relegated to one-party voters. In a dramatic shift, new black conservatives who did take prominent roles in Republican administrations in the 1980s and 1990s were required to denounce affirmative action as a veritable job qualification. Thus, Fletcher became the last Republican, black or white, to defend the initiatives he helped create and was relegated to the status of the most important Republican civil rights activist of whom many people have never heard. He realized too late that the party had left him behind; too much of American history has left him out. Angela D. Dillard University of Michigan Copyright © 2020 The Southern Historical Association

Mandating Gender Diversity in the Corporate Boardroom: The Inevitable Failure of California’s SB 826.

America's corporate boards are insufficiently diverse. Too few women and ethnic minorities are at table. California's SB 826 seeks to remedy this situation by imposing penalties on publicly traded corporations with headquarters in California, regardless of where they are chartered, if their boards have fewer than a legislatively mandated number of self-identified women directors. While well intentioned, this legislation will not achieve its intended effect because it is unconstitutional as applied to vast majority, if not all, of publicly held corporations headquartered in California. The internal affairs doctrine will limit law’s application to only 72 corporations headquartered and chartered in California, or 1.59 percent of all publicly traded corporations. The bill will increase number of board seats occupied by women by trivial amounts, if at all. These trivial changes will, however, come at great risk to evolution of affirmative action jurisprudence. California's own legislative analysis concludes that the use of a quota-like system, as proposed by this bill … may be difficult to defend. A successful equal rights challenge means that SB 826 will have no effect at all. The legislation thus offers a poor bargain for diversity advocates: gain a trivial number of board seats, if any, but increase risk of judicial rulings inimical to broader affirmative action initiatives. There is a better way. California can use its significant capital market influence to induce major institutional investors to mount more aggressive activist campaigns that can rapidly and materially increase boardroom diversity. These campaigns have a demonstrated history of success. They will not generate years of litigation, will not be limited to California-chartered corporations, and will pose no risk to affirmative action jurisprudence. Properly structured shareholder activism is better, smarter way to proceed.

Minority engineering programs at a crossroads

Purpose Underrepresented groups have fought for equal access to higher education, which spurred the development of “minority” initiatives. However, the assault on affirmative action and race-based initiatives have led many universities to retreat toward more all-encompassing “diversity” initiatives. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the author examines two historically white public research universities. The data include 70 participants with voices of faculty, key administrators, students and recent alumni (within the past three-five years). Findings Analyzed through a pattern matching technique, the findings from this study suggest important financial benefits for the “multicultural” engineering program and a sense of communal support for both the “multicultural” and “minority” engineering program. Originality/value Given the international attention of raced-based initiatives, this study provides forward-looking insights based on the experiences and perspectives of key stakeholders.

The New Racial Preferences

Michigan’s Proposal 2 and California’s Proposition 209 explicitly prohibit their state governments from discriminating or granting “preferential treatment ... on the basis of race.” Proponents of both ballot initiatives specifically employed this language to eliminate state promulgated race-based affirmative action programs. For advocates of Proposal 2 and Proposition 209, affirmative action is the quintessential example of a preference on the basis on race. They reasoned that the policy benefits blacks and Latinos and burdens whites and, in some formulations, Asian Americans. This Article neither defends affirmative action nor critiques anti-affirmative action initiatives. Instead, we take Proposition 209 and Proposal 2 seriously by engaging in something of a thought experiment: what concretely does it mean to make institutional processes colorblind or race neutral? We believe it particularly productive to explore this question in the context of school admissions policies, where selection procedures have been highly scrutinized and debated. Our more particular focus is on the personal statement, which remains an important but under-examined part of the admission process. While it is clear that post-affirmative action admissions criteria exclude or omit race from consideration, what that means for evaluating the personal statement is decidedly less than clear. Surprisingly, this issue has received little scholarly attention. Most commentators have focused on the demographic consequences of eliminating race from consideration, and not the mechanisms college and university admissions employ to attempt to purge race from the admissions process. The assumption seems to be that implementing the colorblind imperative of Proposition 209 and Proposal 2 is easy institutional business. But this is not so. Focusing on the personal statement, we will demonstrate that eliminating race from admissions is far from simple. Indeed, so long as the personal statement is part of the admissions process, it might not even be possible. Nor does prohibiting explicit references to race in the context of admissions make admissions processes race neutral. As we will show, again drawing on the personal statement, formally eliminating race from admissions decisionmaking installs a new racial preference. The new racial preference is not a preference for a racial category per se. Nor is this preference “on the basis of skin color,” which is how opponents of affirmative characterize the policy. The new racial preference gives a priority or advantage to applicants who choose to suppress their racial identity over those who do not so choose. More specifically, this racial preference benefits applicants who (a) view their racial identity as irrelevant or inessential and (b) make no express mention of it in the application process. These applicants are advantaged vis-a-vis applicants for whom race is a fundamental part of their sense of self. One might think of this preference as a kind of racial viewpoint discrimination—analogous to the viewpoint distinction or preference that the First Amendment prohibits. Race is the “content” and colorblindness and racial consciousness are competing “viewpoints.” Just as the government’s regulation of speech must be content neutral and cannot be based upon the viewpoint expressed, a university’s regulation of admissions should be content neutral and † Professors of Law, UCLA School of Law. For discussions about or feedback on this Article, we thank Kimberle Crenshaw, Carole Goldberg, Jerry Kang, Mitu Gulati, Luke Harris, and Russell Robinson, and Michael Schill. Laura Wirth, Emily Wood, Jordan Blair Woods, Nina Farnia, and Hentyle Yapp provided invaluable research assistance. We are indebted to as always to the research staff of the law library, including Cheryl Kelly Fischer. For their insight into the Cantrell litigation, we thank Mark Rosenbaum and Catherine Lhamon from the ACLU of Southern California, and Anurima Bhargawa of the NAACP-LDF. We also thank Angela Onwuachi-Willig for inviting us to participate in this symposium. Finally, we thank the editors of the California Law Review for their patience and for the care with which they engaged our ideas.

Affirmative Action in Contemporary Brazil: Two Institutional Discourses on Race

In 2001, the State universities of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ and UENF) were the first Brazilian public universities to reserve 40% of their places for self-declared blacks (negros) and browns (pardos). In 2004, the University of Brasilia became the first federal university to implement an affirmative policy for black (negros) and indigenous people in Brazil. In the present article it is my intention to focus on contingent aspects in the making of these policies. While looking into both cases as two institutional discourses of race, I seek to challenge two common and equally problematic interpretations of the current race-assertive politics in Brazil, namely: (a) one that sees these affirmative action initiatives as the result of a kind of inevitable process towards the disclosure of Brazil’s hidden and actual plurality of “races;” (b) and another that, by contrast, conceives them as a sort of “imported model” that is not only imposed from abroad but also incompatible with the Brazilian symbolic order and system of racial classification.

The Michigan affirmative action cases

In its controversial Bakke decision of 1978, the Supreme Court upheld racial and ethnic diversity in university admissions - but it was not to be the last word on the matter. When Jennifer Gratz and Barbara Grutter challenged the University of Michigan's admission policies because they were passed over in favor of ostensibly less-qualified minority applicants, the Court was once again compelled to address affirmative action. Barbara Perry takes readers behind the scenes to tell the riveting story of how the two rejected applicants allied with conservative interest groups in an attempt to overturn affirmative action programs in higher education - and how in a 5-4 decision Justice Sandra Day O'Connor provided the decisive vote reaffirming Bakke. While the plaintiffs argued that their rights to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act had been violated, the Court in 2003 disagreed and upheld the constitutionality of affirmative action, citing the goal of diversity as a legitimate state interest but also making it clear that there were limits to that interest and the policies to implement it. Drawing on interviews with key figures in the litigation, Perry follows the twists and turns of the district and appellate cases, then reveals the inside story of how Justice O'Connor joined her liberal colleagues to uphold the use of race in university admissions and thereby establish an important new precedent. Perry provides a play-by-play account of the dramatic oral arguments before the Court, explains how the Court's decisions emerged, and reveals how Justice O'Connor's personal, professional, and judicial background brought her to that pivotal moment in legal history. As Perry shows, the Supreme Court's decisions frustrated both conservatives and civil rights advocates, who continue to battle each other when anti - affirmative action initiatives appear on state ballots. Her compelling study helps us understand why affirmative action remains one of our most hotly contested issues.

Diversity management in South African sport federations

South Africa's political transformation since 1994 compelled sport federations to develop and implement new strategies and structures to actively recognise, appreciate and manage the increasingly multicultural nature of post-apartheid sport. Diversity management consists of three integrated dimensions: affirmative action initiatives, economic empowerment and the existence of a supportive management philosophy to support diversity management. Although South African sport federations are required to meet minimum standards of diversity management, it appears as if they are unaware of the multi-faceted scope of diversity management and concentrate on the single dimension of affirmative action. This study investigates the perceptions of South African sport federations on diversity management by means of a 27 statement questionnaire on the key performance indicators of diversity management evaluated on a 5-point Likert scale. Results are analysed in terms of mean scores ( x ) and frequencies (%) recorded for statements in the questionnaire. Overall results categorise South African sport federations in the neutral diversity management zone on the Diversity Management continuum of Bill (2002). The study concludes by proposing that in order to progress on the diversity management continuum South African sport federations should adopt and implement the strategies of organisational change to reflect the diversity of the South African population, institutionalise clear policy on diversity management, running appropriate, participative and inclusive management training programmes, as well as setting, actively pursuing and continuously monitoring diversity benchmarks.

Editors' Conclusion: Special Issue by Sisters and Brothers of the Academy Institutes

African Americans in the United States occupy an unusual space. While we are Americans, our contributions are devalued through the use of language and stories about the founding of the country. The American educational system celebrates the supremacy of Whiteness and continually adopts assessment strategies that reinforce the superiority of race and class. Simultaneously, we are also Africans. Yet, the negative connotations of Blackness deter some of us from connecting to that heritage, thereby challenging our ability to establish an authentic sense of self esteem. Sisters of the Academy Institute (SOTA) and Brothers of the Academy Institute (BOTA) are attempts to overcome the systemic challenges that African Americans face. By providing vehicles to discuss the challenges to our health and well-being, economic success, and intellectual prowess, authentic strategies to transcend systems of domination can emerge. The BOTA Think Tank, first held in Kansas City, Kansas, during fall 2004 and then in Atlanta, Georgia, during fall 2006, is such a vehicle. By creating a bridge between local communities and members of the academy, we support the work of a new breed of scholars--community engaged scholars. Faculty members whose research or scholarly activities take place in and influence the community have a vehicle to develop new partnerships and to engage in conversations that give birth to new strategies to overcome a legacy of discrimination. SOTA's signature event scheduled for August, 2007 was designed to facilitate the success of Black women in the academy by creating spaces to develop the type of research skills necessary to succeed in graduate school programs and as junior faculty at research institutions. By creating mentoring networks and disseminating what we have collectively learned from our experiences in the academy, we have the ability to influence conversations, policies, and strategies that influence the quality of our existence as Black people. Furthermore, affiliations at overwhelmingly White institutions with climates not necessarily conducive to nurturing voices divergent from the mainstream are ideally less of a challenge because our disseminated voices can sustain other scholars feeling marginalized by their experiences in higher education. The Journal of Thought has provided SOTA and BOTA with a forum to showcase some of the work underway within our organizations. As co-editors, we have collaborated to nurture the voices within SOTA and BOTA. The process of editing this volume has taken more time than the traditional editorship of a special issue because many of the voices you will read are those of emerging Black scholars. Nurturing these voices is necessary because these are the voices poised to develop more effective strategies for redressing the problems in our community. A myriad of challenges face Black communities. These challenges are oftentimes caused by an intersection of race, gender, and poverty. Dannielle Joy Davis examines the critical role that research plays in defining policy. Davis warns against the adoption of color blindness when conducting policy research. To this end she identifies methodological strategies for conducting research, which directly examines the roles of race, class, and gender in our society. This is a necessary discussion because of recent and successful attempts to dismantle affirmative action and other race-conscious initiatives. After all, few institutions of higher education were able to achieve student or faculty diversity without considering the race and gender of applicants. Without doing so, campuses across the country would be more racially and class homogenous. Necoal Holiday-Driver, Chippewa Thomas, and Monica Hunter highlight the impact that HIV/AIDS has on heterosexual African American women. While the world indicts developing countries for the growth in the transmission of HIV, these authors report an increase among African and Hispanic American women. …

Perceptions of racism and illusions of equity

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to address an under‐represented aspect of the literature on gender and work – how Black and White women managers perceive the influence of racism in the workplace.Design/methodology/approachData were gathered using a survey instrument and compared using χ2 analyses. Theoretical constructs of aversive racism, White racial identity, and White privilege frame the discourse and the proposed model.FindingsCompared to their White counterparts, more Black respondents perceived racism in their workplaces, were supportive of affirmation action, and saw racial as well as gender disparities in work effort required for success. In contrast, many White participants did not perceive workplace racism, saw little need for affirmative action initiatives, and seemed to hold an illusion of equity regarding work effort.Research limitations/implicationsOne is a small response percentage for Black participants. Two, members of the organizations selected may not be representative of the general population. Future research should be conducted within organizations and include other under‐represented groups to guide organizational responses to combined race/ethnicity and gender concerns.Practical implicationsEven well‐meaning White women may be perpetuating racial inequities and inadvertently hurting their sisters of color by not acknowledging the pervasive influence of race on gender experience. Similarly, if organizations address only gender issues and do not acknowledge the additional constraints of race for women of color, careers of talented women and organizations that need their expertise will suffer.Originality/valueThe perceptions of racism model suggests potential antecedents for the illusion of equity perceived by White respondents.

Support for Affirmative Action Initiatives Among Diverse Groups: The Role of Ethnic Identity

This study investigates the relationships among demographic factors (race/ethnicity, color, and gender), ethnic identity (i.e., the degree to which one identifies with and feels a part of one's racial or ethnic group), and support for affirmative action initiatives. Using a sample of 1,880 university employees, the results of this survey study reveal that women and minority group members express higher levels of ethnic identity and support for affirmative action initiatives, mirroring previous research. In addition, the findings indicate that ethnic identity and support for affirmative action initiatives are correlated and that ethnic identity serves as a mediator and moderator in the relationship between demographic variables and support for affirmative action for some subgroups.

Where College‐Bound Students Send Their SAT Scores: Does Race Matter?*

Objective. I examine where Texas students send their SAT scores in 1998 to identify their revealed preferences for higher education and determine if race/ethnicity influences their decision.Methods. Using data from the Texas Schools Microdata Panel, I estimate the influence of race/ethnicity on various college choice sets using a multinomial logit model.Results. The empirical estimation indicates that minorities perceive their opportunities at Texas public institutions to be different from whites. Furthermore, although blacks and Hispanics are less likely than whites to send their SAT scores to selective Texas institutions, they are more likely to send their scores to selective institutions out of state.Conclusion. Although the reasons for this are currently unclear, a possible suspect is the Hopwood v. Texas decision, a court ruling ending affirmative action initiatives in the admissions decisions of all Texas public colleges and universities.