This collection examines the case for affirmative action in the UK in relation to employment, higher education, the legal profession, the judiciary, political representation and minority language rights. Draws on experience of affirmative action in the United States, Canada and Germany.

1. Justifying Affirmative Action: Perception and Reality. (Aileen McHarg, Donald Nicolson). 2. Positive Action for Women in Employment: Time to Align with Europe? (Noreen Burrows, Muriel Robison). 3. Affirmative Action in Women's Employment: Lessons from Canada. (Nicole Busby). 4. Affirmative Action: A German Perspective on the Promotion of Women's Rights with Regard to Employment. (Anke J. Stock). 5. Widening Participation and Higher Education. (Lois S. Bibbings). 6. Preferential Treatment, Social Justice, and the Part-time Law Student – The Case for the Value-added Part-time Law Degree. (Andrew M. Francis, Iain W. McDonald). 7. Affirmative Action in the Legal Profession. (Donald Nicolson). 8. Rethinking the Merit Principle in Judicial Selection. (Kate Malleson). 9. Quotas for Women! The Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002. (Aileen McHarg). 10. Minority Business Enterprise Programmes in the United States of America: An Empirical Investigation. (Martin J. Sweet). 11. Is There a Duty to Legislate for Linguistic Minorities? (Robert Dunbar)

The legitimacy and value of affirmative action policies remain controversial and contested. The essays in this collection examine the case for affirmative action in the UK in relation to employment, higher education, the legal profession, the judiciary, political representation, and minority language rights. They draw upon experience of the uses of and justifications for affirmative action in the United States, Canada, and Germany. The themes explored in the collection relate, first, to the way in which affirmative action is conceptualized and how this affects its perceived justifiability. Secondly, the essays highlight the importance of context in evaluating the case for affirmative action. Thirdly, the collection emphasises the need for pragmatic judgments about the likely effectiveness and costs of such policies in the different circumstances in which they are employed.