Quotaism

A quota system is often part of any affirmative action policies, but in those cases it is mainly used as a "target", within a single entity. Quotaism applies to the whole country and is enforced by legislation on all public and private entities.

Implementation

Bangladesh

• The Bangladesh Civil Service reserves 5% of its positions to the children of Bangladesh Liberation War veterans, 1% to the indigenous peoples in Bangladesh, and 1% to disabled people. There have been demonstrations by university students calling for a drastic reduction in these quotas, or their complete abolition.

Brazil

• Higher Education – In 2012, the Brazilian government introduced legislation for federal universities, where spots are reserved according to the racial make-up of each Brazilian state.

European Union

Directive (EU) 2022/2381 requires that all EU member states pass a national law by 28 December 2024 that requires that by 30 June 2026 women hold at least 40% of non-executive director positions and at least 33% of all director positions at listed companies.

India

• Reservation – a form of quota-based affirmative action directed by constitutional and statutory laws, half of all the vacancies in government is reserved based on caste, tribe or gender i.e. mainly marginalised indigenous SC/ST communities.
• Economically Weaker Section – 10% quota is given in colleges for undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
• Higher Education – The University Grants Commission (UGC) provides financial assistance to universities/colleges which adopts a reservation policy for admissions and recruitment.
• Sports Quota – Sports ability can be a criterion for being hired for none-sports positions.

South Africa

Local trade unions commonly use the term "Absolute representation" in this regard.

• BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) – Companies are scored based on the quota of black ownership, senior managers, training, as well as suppliers. These scores then translate into their ability to compete for government tenders.
• Affirmative Action – The SAPS (South African Police Service) operates a quota system policy for hiring and promotion. Positions will be left unfilled if the appropriate demographic candidate cannot be recruited, even if another qualified person is available.
• University Enrollment – First-year students are registered on a racial quota basis. In some cases there are different admission requirements for different demographics. For example: to study medicine at the University of Cape Town (UCT), white and Indian students require at least a 78% average on their National Senior Certificate, whereas black students only requires 59%. This is largely as a result of the quota system requiring privileged access for certain ethnic groups - In 2016 the University of KwaZulu-Natal quota for medical students is 69% black African, 19% Indian, 9% coloured, 2% white and 1% other.
• Sport – In 2013, then Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula has imposed quota systems in athletics, cricket, football, netball and rugby.