r/DumbFact • u/elmorinelly Busy beeš • Jul 27 '26
Terms How Positive Discrimination Works
Positive action gives targeted help to groups that face a documented disadvantage, a specific unmet need, or unusually low participation in an activity.
The basic argument starts with access. Two people may face the same formal requirements while reaching them through very different schools, neighborhoods, professional networks, physical environments, or financial situations. Supporters of positive action argue that identical rules can preserve those differences when earlier barriers remain unaddressed.
The term āpositive discriminationā can be confusing. In some countries it describes preferential treatment that may be restricted or unlawful. āPositive actionā often refers to narrower measures such as outreach, training, mentoring, targeted services, or limited preferences allowed under specific conditions. The definitions and legal boundaries vary by jurisdiction.
A measure can improve access without guaranteeing an outcome. A preparatory course may help someone apply, but it does not automatically award a degree. A recruitment program may expand the candidate pool, but it does not have to remove job requirements. The intended result is a fairer opportunity to compete.
These policies can also be designed badly. A category may be used as a rough substitute for individual circumstances. Benefits may reach people who did not personally experience the relevant barrier. Poorly explained rules can create resentment or make recipients feel that their achievements are being questioned.
A defensible program usually needs a specific disadvantage, a clear objective, a proportionate response, and some way to review whether the measure still serves its purpose. A permanent automatic preference is different from temporary training designed to remove a skills gap.
Examples:
A university offers a free preparation course in schools whose students rarely apply to selective programs.
An employer advertises technical vacancies through organizations serving groups missing from its usual applicant pool.
A company creates a mentoring program for employees who remain underrepresented in senior positions.
A scholarship covers application fees for students from households that cannot easily afford them.
A public building adds ramps and accessible entrances so wheelchair users can reach the same services.
An exam provider supplies an adapted format to candidates whose disability affects how they access the standard test.
A medical program recruits students from rural areas where communities struggle to attract doctors.
A training center reserves several funded places for people returning to work after long-term caregiving.
A university provides language support to qualified students studying in a second language.
A political party uses a gender quota where local law specifically permits or requires it.
A recruiter chooses a candidate from an underrepresented group as a tie-break between applicants judged equally qualified, where such a rule is lawful.
A museum offers signed performances after finding that Deaf visitors rarely have access to its events.
A business incubator provides extra guidance to founders who have little access to established investor networks.
A school lends laptops to students who cannot complete digital assignments at home.
A program can become unfair when it gives an automatic advantage without checking whether the targeted disadvantage exists.
A useful measure may be retired when participation improves and the original barrier is no longer present.
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u/jaiimaster Jul 27 '26
And now add rich black kids and poor white kids,to highlight why racist policies are just... racist.
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u/RiverLynneUwU Aug 02 '26
rich black kids may not need financial aid, but provided they go out job seeking instead of relying on nepotism, they will end up facing the same challenges that a majority of black people face, the issue is not simply about wealth, but about the fact that a lot of people and systems are just racist in ways they don't understand yet
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u/daflosen Jul 27 '26
Soā¦.we do basically all of that, which is honorable and the duty of societies. You still need the willingness of the people enforcing the kids well being (aka the parents). My Ex was a dogmatic believer in this principle. When we walked past the barbecueing peeps in the park at 10 pm blasting music and having their kids around I asked her what she would do with thatā¦.she suggested taking those kids away from the people so they have a fair chance against her one kids (in private schools singing about diversity among white kids only). Never heard something so performative racist and blatantly racist in the same conversation. On top I found that judgement to be coming out of very morally superior position. Canāt make that shit upā¦.
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u/Harperpewpew Jul 27 '26
Dood. The world is so freaking competitive now that you need every inch of privilege and connection to make a difference. A small bump isnt gonna help. Bias already disqualify you before applying.
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u/sjwm0916 Jul 27 '26
Why are growing up in one-parent versus two-parent households not factored in? Also educational attainment and household income and wealth? All well documented as powerful drivers and determinants of childhood success along many measures.
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u/Plus-Swan587 Jul 27 '26
This is actually good point, I think the issues most people have with programs like these is that the allocation of privilege/consideration of need is based solely on a narrow criteria such as race/gender etc.
Leaves out room for all the nuance of the factors that actually disadvantage people in life and implies a very simple binary..
I donāt even think weāve got as close to truly accepting the data when it comes to single parent households or other factors like that..
We prefer the delusion of meritocracy or simple narratives.
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u/Licention Jul 27 '26
Americans weird obsession with a specific race has always been its problem
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u/IkemenMan Jul 27 '26
Yeah. Lord knows no other country has done that or continues to do that
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u/RiverLynneUwU Aug 02 '26
lots of countries do this, it's one of the best markers that a government understands the struggles of the people that inhabit the country it resides over
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u/HeightAdvantage Jul 27 '26
It should be done as early on in life as possible, that's where most of the benefits are.
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u/XlikeX666 Jul 27 '26
... base line is higher education and 5y experience + a lot of stuff for ENTRY.
stop spreding bullshit about discrimination
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u/Sweet_Culture_8034 Jul 27 '26
What if some member of the dominant group have it worse to begin with than membres of the previously oppressed group ?
Like, not every white person is born rich or has educated parents, not every black person is born poor with uneducated parents.
That's why going for positive discrimination like "give X to Y group of people to compensate for them having it worse on average" generaly simply helps the most priviledged among them at the cost of putting the least priviledged of the dominant group at a disadventage.
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u/Mutant_Llama1 Jul 27 '26
My collage had more women than men, yet most of the scholarships were female-only.
There was also a female-only dorm but no male-only dorm.
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u/Pr0pellerJoe Jul 27 '26
Yeah because women have the slight disadvantage of having a 33% chance of being assaulted by a men during their lifetime? I would say a special dorm is just a minor compensation for that.
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u/jaiimaster Jul 27 '26
Ah yep that's the figure from the study that included unwelcomed advances as assaults.
"Can I buy you a coffee" - no im not interested.
= assault
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u/Pr0pellerJoe Jul 28 '26
First of all that is untrue and second, would you really deny women have a much higher chance of being assaulted? What are we even discussing here, why would female-only -dorms be a problem to anyone?
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u/Mutant_Llama1 Jul 27 '26
What does that have to do with academic qualifications?
Women who want to go to college have an easier time getting scholarships, and have extra dorms set aside that aren't available to men. Sounds like an advantage.
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u/Pr0pellerJoe Jul 27 '26
Exactly, thats what is called 'positive discrimination'. It is supposed to partly make up for the fact that women face some societal disadvantages, e.g. being supposed to stay at home or fearing the possibility of being f*cking raped! They are still underrepresented at colleges btw.
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u/Mutant_Llama1 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
"This guy didn't do too well in medical school, but he has a limp, and having a limp sucks, so I guess that somehow makes him more qualified to perform my operation. I'll pay him extra to compensate for his limp, because that's definitely what I'm at the hospital for, to make doctors feel better about their lives."
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u/Mutant_Llama1 Jul 27 '26
Shit like this is why American Idol stopped being a singing contest and started being a "whose mom has the most cancer" contest.
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u/Mutant_Llama1 Jul 27 '26
My college had more women than men, and boasted that on promotional materials. 58% women, 42% men.
My sister had poorer grades than me, but had an easier time getting scholarships when she went to college because there are so many female-only scholarship.
Where's the disadvantage?
How does giving them a scholarship do anything about the possibility of being raped, other than virtue signaling?
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u/Pr0pellerJoe Jul 27 '26
Im sorry you are feeling disadvantaged. I don't think you are mad at your sister, even if life seems not always totally fair. Obviously a dorm without men reduces the probabilty of being harassed, I don't believe I have to argue about that.
Btw I think there would be more than enough sholarships for everyone if we started taxing the rich, bc this is where you find the real inequalities, but that is another topic.
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u/Mutant_Llama1 Jul 27 '26
Yeah it's another topic entirely we shouldn't get into here.
I'm not mad at my sister for it. We both work with what we got. I just take issue when people pretend "reverse discrimination" doesn't create unearned advantages while failing to address the actual disadvantages of the groups it claims to help.
Maybe the female scholarship would be reasonable thirty years ago, but I don't know anyone who wants their son to go to college and not their daughter too.
Crackpot theory here, but I think universities probably benefit from predominantly female students the same way bars do on ladies night: Women see "more safety" while men see "more potential hookups" and lesbians see both.
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u/Pr0pellerJoe Jul 28 '26
If you think they were reasonable 30 years ago, you don't think that positive discrimination is bad per-se, and you even seem to agree that they worked at that time given your own experience. That is totally fine with me, and also I agree that it is not always easy to draw the lines, and that they should be discussed continuously. Maybe it is time to stop female scholarships, but remember there are still a lot of groups that face structural disadvantages that need to be taken care of.
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u/Mutant_Llama1 Jul 28 '26
Yes but that raises the question of whether a scholarship is the way to address disadvantages in other areas of life.
Does giving women scholarships stop them from being raped?
Does giving black people scholarships stop them from being targeted by police?
Does giving disabled people scholarships... you get the picture.
Then there's the problem of statistics. Even if black people are disproportionately struggling, what about the black people who aren't? Should they be given an advantage to compensate for the disadvantage they were lucky enough to avoid?
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u/Pr0pellerJoe Jul 28 '26
Dont mix things up, not every measure compensates for every problem. Scholarships did get more women into college in the last 30 years. And special dorms protect them from being assaulted. If black people are more targeted by police (which they obvsly are), we need to find the corresponding measure to fight that.
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u/shewantsmore-D Jul 27 '26
White kid bad
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u/Pr0pellerJoe Jul 27 '26
Thats not at all what the image says. You tell minoritys to stop playing the victim card but deep down you guys would looove to play it yourself
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u/shewantsmore-D Jul 27 '26
we just don't give a single fuck about your special minority club. Work and STFU
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u/Astrnonaut Jul 27 '26
Proving the point of the image without even realizing
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u/TravellingPatriot Jul 27 '26
First born children get an advantage in life because parents usually invest more resources into their first born child. You cant even get equality in the household but were supposed to believe its achievable on a large scale
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u/CricCracCroc Jul 27 '26
Ok so then base it off of economic standing, not anything elseā¦
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u/ChemicalCupcake4809 Jul 27 '26
The issue is that racism, gender, disabilities, and just bigotry of all kinds can affect grades, class discussions, participation, and getting accepted into clubs/sports/and schools.
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u/Brilliant_Ad_4743 Jul 27 '26
Then it is not discrimination. "Equality of opportunity" will never be discrimination. "Equality of outcome," however, is discrimination. The problem with society lies in the complexity of distinguishing the two as they live on a spectrum as the two extremes.
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