Abstract
Using data obtained through a separate study, interviews with women of color associated with and involved in the development of an affirmative action (AA) program were analyzed in light of Tyler's theories of procedural justice. Interviews were examined for respondents' implicit or explicit judgments of AA as fair or unfair in principle and in practice, and whether respondents used Tyler's six elements of justice criteria (representation, consistency, impartiality, accuracy, correctibility, and ethicality) in their assessments. Tyler's criteria are used by the respondents in their assessments. Beneficiaries perceive AA to be fair in both contexts, although fairer in principle than in practice. The issue of commitment was raised in several contexts as a salient concern of many of the respondents, and several concrete examples of deficiencies and successes in the ways AA is implemented are reported.
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Ayers, L.R. Perceptions of affirmative action among its beneficiaries. Soc Just Res 5, 223–238 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01048664
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01048664