Redirected affirmative action: Entry and exit?

Affirmative action is typically presumed to apply to recruitment but never lay-offs. Policies of affirmative action which only apply to recruitment are known as entry initiatives whilst exit initiatives involve lay-offs. In this paper, I challenge the status quo presumption against mixed exit initiatives which involve both lay-offs and preferential recruitment. Assuming that we have reasons to enact affirmative action initiatives whenever doing so promotes equality of opportunity, I strengthen the case for mixed exit initiatives by showing how, in at least some cases, the relevant initiatives will be likely to provide a greater reduction in inequalities of opportunity both within and across different birth cohorts. I consider various objections to exit initiatives as I construe them and argue that none of them are immediately decisive such that the status quo presumption is justified. I conclude by gesturing towards the plausibility of the initiatives discussed and other policies which merit further consideration.