Through affirmative action, employers and educational institutions engage in outreach, recruitment, and training to remedy past and existing discrimination. Affirmative action does not mean the hiring of unqualified people. In fact, these activities are specifically prohibited by law. Affirmative action allows competent and qualified women and minorities to compete and excel in areas where they are or have been under-represented. Affirmative action forces employers to set quotas for the number of women and minorities they will employ.
Quotas are illegal in affirmative action programs.
There are no legal penalties if goals are not met, as long as good faith efforts to achieve them are made. Of these, discrimination against white men was established in only six cases. Unqualified people are being hired and promoted to fulfill affirmative action requirements. When affirmative action programs are administered properly, only qualified people are hired. Poorly managed affirmative action programs may, on occasion, result in a corruption of policies.