positive discrimination

A policy designed to favour some deprived region or minority and to redress, at least in part, uneven development. Policies of positive discrimination have been criticized for treating the effects of inequality rather than tackling its causes. Other criticisms made are that not all of the minority or region needs help, and that many deprived people are outside the catchment area. None the less, the EU, for example, still uses schemes of positive discrimination, through the European Regional Development Fund.

An institutionalized way of enabling those historically disadvantaged by a political system to participate in public life. Positive discrimination implies applying different criteria for selection to representatives of different groups as a way of addressing the existing social inequalities. It can be distinguished from positive or affirmative action which implies taking proactive steps to encourage certain groups to participate in the social, economic, and political life of a country. So, for example, there might be a concerted effort made to spread information about job recruitment in particular geographical or social areas by advertising for jobs in local and/or targeted newspapers, magazines, and so on. At times positive discrimination is purely political in nature, as, for example, the quota system initiated by the Labour Party in Britain to increase women's representation within the Party. In some cases it is seen more as a way of increasing opportunity, especially through better education. In the United States, for example, cases of positive discrimination in the 1970s focused on setting aside a fixed number of seats on courses in educational institutions. In India places are reserved for those of the lowest castes under the Ninth Schedule of the Indian constitution in state-supported employment, and in educational and political institutions at all levels. Supporters of the system see this as the dominant groups in society paying off a historical debt, and as an enabling process that will lead to more integrated societies. Critics point out that the system negates the principles of both equality and merit, and further, that it permits whole sections of society to avoid competition, which in turn reinforces prejudices.

— Shirin Rai