The main demerit of affirmative action, especially at the workplace and in the education sector, is that it creates stigma (Kannan et al., 2019). The individuals who benefit from affirmative action will be stigmatized by others because there will be a perception that they were recruited because of the pressure to attain equality and not because of their abilities. The other demerit is that it creates a perception of reverse discrimination because the disadvantaged groups are given extra opportunities at the detriment of the others.
Affirmative action has been quite effective in enhancing equality in employment. In the past, employers did not hire women and minority groups due to social stigma (Ezorsky, 2018). Even the women that were qualified did not get equal employment opportunities because of the favoritism towards men. Affirmative action ensures that the employers treat employees equally
