A century ago, America had a very different landscape when it came to equality among its citizens. Businesses were free to hire only those employees they deemed acceptable based on the owner's preferred culture. A person could be turned away simply because they were a woman, belonged to an ethnic group, their physical constitution or their age. The same goes for educational institutions, both private and public. In the 1940s, the work landscape began to change. Businesses were required to eliminate discriminatory policies in hiring, firing, and treatment of employees. In 1964, America passed the Civil Rights Act, which led to greater equality in the workplace and opened the door to equality in education. Colleges and universities were also required to admit a certain percentage of minority students. The goal was to eliminate discrimination against low-income groups, increase racial diversity among students, and eliminate social bias. In the late 1990s, problems of reverse discrimination emerged. In 2003, the Supreme Court ruled that the University of Michigan's point system favoring minorities was unconstitutional. However, their affirmative action policies in graduate programs and law schools were upheld in a close vote by the Supreme Court. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The choice of colleges and universities to develop affirmative action policies stems from their need to be more inclusive and diverse in within their student body. Statistical data at the time showed that the lack of diversity in the student body gave unfair advantages to white students, particularly men, after graduation. Disadvantaged communities were found to have weak primary and secondary education facilities. This leads to a lack of adequate test scores needed to be competitive with more prosperous communities. Without an affirmative action plan, colleges and universities have struggled to find qualified minority applicants. As the landscape of racial diversity evolved in the business world, hiring demands for minority graduates emerged. Higher education had to adapt its admission conditions and profiles to meet demand. Another critical factor is the amount of financial support provided to colleges and universities by local and national businesses. Michigan is known for its automobile factories, California is a leader in the high-tech industry, Texas is the nation's leader in all things oil and gas. Likewise, Michigan has some of the best engineering programs in the country and the University of California campuses consistently rank among the brightest and best research and development programs in the world serving companies like Google , Facebook and other tech giants. Affirmative Action Plans Implemented Across America Education at colleges and universities has served a specific purpose by providing opportunities that may never have been an option for minorities and disadvantaged individuals academic and sociological. The gap between qualified candidates across all economic and racial sectors continues to narrow. This has led to many questions about the need to maintain admissions quotas. Several states have..