Some countries not only adopt racial preferential policies, but make it legally enforceable. This is known as affirmative action. Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including race, color, religion, sex, or national origin into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group in areas of employment, education, and business - so to promote the opportunities of the defined groups. It is often instituted in government and educational settings to ensure that minority groups within a society are included in all programs.
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The US, Canada and most European nations have affirmative act for disabled individuals
In many countries, the focus tends to be on ensuring equal opportunity for ethnic minorities. Among them, Brazilian universities have created systems of preferred admissions (quotas) for racial minorities (blacks and native Brazilians), the poor and people with disabilities. The Canadian Employment Equity Act requires employers in federally-regulated industries to give preferential treatment to four designated groups: women, people with disabilities, aboriginal people, and visible minorities.
Certain universities in the United States have the top-10% rule in order to add racial diversity and in response to falling minority enrollment. The rule favors minority Blacks and Hispanics against the higher-achieving Asians and Whites. India has a reservation system designed to improve the well-being of backward and under-represented communities especially those in the lower caste.
China and India have affirmative acts in favor of minority groups
In China, “preferential policies” required some of the top positions in governments be distributed to ethnic minorities and women. Also, many universities are dictated by government to give preferred admissions to ethnic minorities especially the Manchus, Hui, Tibetan and Uighur in expense of the majority Han Chinese. In New Zealand, the minority Maori or other Polynesians are often afforded improved access to university courses, or have scholarships earmarked specifically for them.
There are however, several countries who implemented policies in favor of its majority population instead, they are:
1. Israel
- The Jewish Law of Return
Favoring: The Jewish people
The Zionist political movement found in the 1880s successfully established Israel, currently the most developed country in the Middle East, as a state for the Jewish people, and stipulates that the demographics majority must always be maintained as Jewish. The Law of Return 5710-1950 was enacted by the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, on July 5, 1950 which declares the right of Jews to come to Israel: “Every Jew has the right to come to this country as an oleh.”
The policy invites all Jewish diaspora around the world back into Israel, in hope to maintain the Jewish majority in Israel. Those who emigrate to Israel under the Law of Return are immediately entitled to citizenship. Israel on the other hand, has no apparent race-based economic policies as the Jewish people don’t seem to have any problem competing in an openly competitive environment. Despite its meritocratic system however, important and sensitive top government jobs are predominantly given to the Jews. The country’s demographics currently stood at 78% Jewish.
2. Malaysia
- The New Economic Policy, evolved into National Development Policy
Favoring: Bumiputra
Malaysia, (Malaya) once the wealthiest British colony in the East in early 20th century, is a multi-ethnic country, with Malays making up the majority at 50% of the population and other indigenous 11% - collectively known as Bumiputra. The remaining minorities include Chinese 24% and Indian 7%. Traditionally, the Bumiputra lags behind other groups in income and made up most of the bottom segment in the economic pyramid. To balance such socioeconomic disparity, the Malaysian government adopted the New Economic Model, implemented after a racial riot in 1969, which targeted a 30% share of the economy for the Bumiputra.
The policy aims to reduce the non-Malay share of the economy in relative terms, and increase that of the Bumiputra to a preset 30% goal, in it entitling the Bumiputra to discount on houses or property, preferential admission to government educational institutions, qualification for public scholarships, priority positions in government, and ownership of businesses. After more than 40 years, the share of Malaysian economy held by the Bumiputra increased from 2.4% in 1970 to around 20% according to government, though the goal of 30% target has not yet been achieved.
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3. Brunei
- Melayu Islam Beraja
Favoring: Rakyat Melayu
Under the British, Brunei was once the richest country in Asia, exceeding even Japan by GDP per capita. After independence, in late 1980s, the Sultan of Brunei launched the Melayu Islam Beraja concept, in it declared “Malays to forever be the dominant race in Brunei, Islam the official religion, and the monarch is to possess full executive authority in the country”. The national concept, incorporated as Brunei national ideology, defined Rakyat Melayu (Malay citizens), which made up 66% of the population, as one of the three main pillars of the country that will reign supreme in social and political affairs.
The ideology reserved important government positions, employment preferences in Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) and other public institutions, together with most financial and business grants exclusively to the Rakyat Melayu. Brunei’s national business acts also require certain business licenses to be co-registered with a Rakyat Melayu prior to approval. On the other hand, the Bruneian government refused to grant citizenship to over half of its locally-born non-Malay population, specifically the ethnic Chinese and Iban, effectively making more than 5% of its population ‘stateless’.
4. South Africa
- The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act
Favoring: The Black people
Under the previous white minority government, South Africa became the largest economy in the African continent, with heavy discrimination towards the Blacks who made up its majority population at 79%. As the apartheid-era government gave complete political and economic control to the whites, the majority of businesses in South Africa were and are still owned by white people today. To correct such imbalances, the South African government decided to implement affirmative action campaign for the Blacks by forcing the formerly privileged white businesses to adopt racial policies in their management and employment representation.
The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act reserves 80% of new jobs for Black people and favor black-owned companies. Each company is required to meet the minimum requirements in terms of representation by the Blacks, including equity ownership, representation at employee and management level, procurement from black-owned businesses and social investment programs. If a small business has greater than 50% black ownership, they qualify as 110% contributors towards Preferential Procurement.
Zimbabwe
- 1992 Land Acquisition Act, 2007 Empowerment Bill
Favoring: The Black people
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country, with agriculture and mining the two main drivers for the economy. Prior to independence, in the country formerly known as Rhodesia, the white minority dominated Zimbabwe’s political, economic and social hierarchy, taking with them an extensive areas of prime farmland reserved for white people only. At this time however, Zimbabwe was the ‘food bowl of Africa’, a model of modern mechanized agricultural powerhouse in Southern Africa.
In 1980, the Black nationalist government won independence for Zimbabwe and proceed to rectify the economic disparity held by the white farmers through redistributing the best farming lands to the majority Blacks. The 1992 Land Acquisition Act enabled the government to purchase or acquire white lands at unfavorable price for the sellers, to be redistributed to the Black people. This is followed by the 2007 Empowerment Bill that allowed the government to seize white-owned farming lands without compensation. As part of the empowerment policy, foreign multinationals must also cede 51% of their shares to local Black Zimbabweans.
