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When underrepresented minorities are actively sought or preferred, the reason given is usually that this is necessary to compensate for advantages to groups such as males or those of European descent from racism, sexism, results of historical circumstances, and institutional racism.
Some dissenters claim that racial preferences have in-effect caused a reverse discrimination against a historically-dominant group (white males in Europe and North America), and liken such preferences to apartheid.
In the US, the most prominent form of affirmative action centers around access to education, particularly entrance to university and other forms of tertiary instruction. Race, ethnicity, native language, class, geographic origin, parental attendance of the university in question ( legacy admissions ), and/or gender are often taken into account when assessing the meaning of an applicant's grades and test scores. For example, a female university student will tend to do as well in college as a male student with SAT scores 50 points higher than hers; because the university's goal is to attract students who will do well in classes (rather than merely students with high test scores), scores from female applicants are sometimes weighted to count as higher, in relation to males'.
Individuals can also be awarded scholarships and have fees paid on the basis of the hitherto-listed criteria.
In the United States, affirmative action programs at universities usually benefit mostly black African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. Asian Americans, although a racial minority, usually do not benefit at most colleges because their makeup in the student body exceeds their makeup in the general US population. White-skinned people usually do not benefit in universities where their makeup in the student body is less than their makeup in the general US population, unless they're from an underrepresented geographic area, or have parents or other relatives who attended the university ( legacy admissions ).
An attorney who filed an amicus brief on behalf of Pennsylvania legislators and former legislators in Grutter v. Bollinger, Rep. Mark B. Cohen of Philadelphia, said that "The cumulative effect of the Bakke, Grutter, and Bollinger cases is that no one has a legal right to have any demographic characteristic they possess be considered a favorable point on their behalf, but an employer has a right to take into account the goals of the organization and the interests of American society in making decisions. This is a moderate, inclusive position that ably balances the various legal interests involved."
In those countries outside the US which have laws on racial equality, such as the United Kingdom, affirmative action would usually be illegal because of a requirement to treat all races equally. This approach of equal treatment is sometimes described as being race-blind. It tends to act against both discrimination and reverse discrimination.
In those countries, the focus tends to be on ensuring equal opportunity and, for example, targetted advertising campaigns to encourage ethnic minority candidates to join the police force. This is sometimes described as "positive action", as opposed to "positive discrimination".
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