Rachel M. Gisselquist, Min J. Kim, Simone Schotte, and Chinmayi Srikanth
Abstract: Affirmative action (or ‘positive action’) measures have been adopted in dozens of countries around the world as a means of addressing group-based inequalities in educational enrolment, employment, political representation, and other areas. Although there is a large research literature on affirmative action, much of it focuses on a limited number of countries. This paper introduces a new Affirmative Action Database which provides detailed information in a standardized format on the design and modalities of affirmative action policies, as well as on their adoption, implementation, associated controversies, and impact. The Affirmative Action Database thus can be used to provide a systematic description of policies and, together with other cross-country databases, to situate and examine experiences of them comparatively, including within regional and global perspectives. Versions 1 and 2, discussed in this paper, cover 81 countries.
Policy relevance: Affirmative action (or ‘positive action’) policies have been adopted in dozens of countries around the world to address group-based inequalities in education, employment, politics, and other sectors. This paper introduces a new database providing detailed information on such policies in 81 countries. It provides evidence-based insights to inform current debates on affirmative action and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies worldwide.
Key words: affirmative action, positive action, horizontal inequality, ethnicity, race, social justice
Authors: Rachel M. Gisselquist, Governance and Social Development Resource Centre, University of Birmingham, corresponding author: r.m.gisselquist@bham.ac.uk; Min J. Kim, American University, Washington DC; Simone Schotte, Finnish Overseas Consultants, Helsinki; Chinmayi Srikanth, Center for Research on the Economics of Climate, Food, Energy and Environment, New Delhi
Acknowledgements: This study was originally prepared as WIDER Working Paper 2024/48 under the UNU-WIDER project Addressing Group-Based Inequalities.
