>[!Properties]+ Page Details > Last Updated: February 26, 2025 (Formatting and a typo) > >#issue/racism #issue/affirmative-action [[Affirmative Action]] and [[Equal Opportunity]] are incompatible and mutually exclusive. This is not a critique of the company's work quality but of their politics. That being said, I'm really bothered by the email signature of a company that I work with. It lists their company as both an [[Affirmative Action]] and an [[Equal Opportunity]] employer. ![[Equal Opp & Affirmative Action Email Signature.png]] I understand where they're coming from but I think we need to be careful using the term [[Affirmative Action]]. [[Affirmative Action]] is discrimination based on some criteria or quota to force a desired outcome. [[Equal Opportunity]] means that all who apply have an equal shot based on qualifications. If you take into account whatever [[Affirmative Action]] characteristics they were using while hiring than you definitionally are not giving everyone an [[Equal Opportunity]]. Recently, The Supreme Court ruled that universities couldn't have admissions quotas based on race as it violates the 14th Amendment's Equal Protections Clause. I think of my four-year-olds walking around, singing 'Up and down are opposites!' to the tune they learned from Ms. Rachel. It's a simple lesson, yet profound. Even adults could benefit from revisiting this basic principle because, just like 'up' and 'down,' [[Affirmative Action]] and [[Equal Opportunity]] are fundamentally opposites. By their very nature, they cannot coexist. Affirmative Action seeks to adjust for historical imbalances by favoring certain groups, while [[Equal Opportunity]] demands that we treat everyone the same, without regard to race, gender, or background. This dichotomy illustrates a clear choice: we must decide if we want to continue with policies that inherently categorize and differentiate, or embrace true equality where every individual is judged solely on merit. Let's learn from our children's simplicity and embrace equality.