Positive discrimination is a menace to equality
No one should be given preferential treatment based on their skin colour or sex.
Imagine that you’re a young white man, and that your lifelong ambition is to be a pilot. You put in hours of swotting up and apply to join a Royal Air Force (RAF) training programme. You sail through the aptitude tests, only to be knocked back after a Skype interview. You’re told it’s because you lack leadership skills – even though the course was intended to train you up in precisely this area.
Then, months later, you learn that women and minority-ethnic candidates had been ‘fast-tracked’ for the role. You learn that ‘around 160 cases of positive discrimination had taken place’ at the RAF. All, apparently, in an effort to meet ‘aspirational diversity targets’. You’d be forgiven for concluding that your gender or your skin colour was what led to your rejection.
In the US, this practice has come to be known as ‘affirmative action’. In the UK, we prefer ‘positive action’. This is where job applicants, students and interns are given preferential treatment according to their skin colour or sex. It might mean they’re guaranteed to get an interview or are offered lower entry criteria. It might also mean they’ll be awarded the post above other equally or more qualified candidates.