Do you think a person should be given a job or elected to a political office based on race or gender?

The term affirmative action describes many policies aimed at a historically socio-politically non-dominant group (typically, minority men or women of all racial groups) intended to promote its access to education or employment. Motivation for affirmative action is to redress negative effects of actual or perceived, past or current discrimination that is regarded as unjust by relevant legislative bodies. It also serves to encourage public institutions such as universities, hospitals and police forces to be more representative of the populations they serve [1].