Affirmative action policies were first implemented in the 1960s as a way to correct the effects of discrimination on women and people of color. The government took measures to increase female and minority representation in its workforce and public university populations—typically by including race and gender as factors in hiring and college admissions decisions.

The discrimination that minorities face in the job market is often so subtle and entrenched, affirmative action supporters maintain, that only policies that aggressively seek out minorities can counteract it. According to a 1998 study conducted by the Fair Employment Council, blacks and Latinos encounter discrimination once in every five times they apply for a job. Many whites, on the other hand, have had unfettered access to education and employment due to family ties, school connections, and personal referral networks that minorities are usually...