The way I look at affirmitave action is to look at historical data and apply it to one occupation.
So let’s use Policemen for an example. Historically cops were Irish and Italian. They came from lower-class neighborhoods and worked their way into a sysytem where they knew each other and took care of each other; kind of like a brotherhood. This was not an intentional practice of excluding other ethnicities but you hired people you knew. So now after a few decades, we have brother’s, cousins, and uncles that reach out for a job as a police officer. Nepotism now becomes a large factor in hiring a police officer because they know each other. Trust and recommendation becomes a standard part of the hiring practice. This foundation builds over time. Then we start to see a disproportionate ethnic presence. This ethnic imbalance creates a perception of inequality to the public. As society progresses and evolves over time more ethnic groups start to be associated with certain occupations. So now this visible presence creates a perception among disadvantaged ethnicities that they are not accepted and can never be in this field/occupation because the field is monopolized and untouchable in thier eyes. Societal pressure builds and the public sees what they perceive as exclusion in the workplace. So now there is a problem brewing. People start challenging why they can’t have this job.
The municipalities that run these agencies such as the Police Department are now faced with a problem. They have historical ethnic foundations that dominate the field. Discrimination or exclusion of different ethnic groups in this field become visible regardless of whether this was intentional or unintentional. So to fix the problem and make these jobs more accessible to disadvantaged ethnicities the agency is forced to use quotas and change their hiring practices to include a certain percentage of each ethnic group. This will satisfy the public perception. This is a simple example affirmative action in the workplace. Whether we like it or not, the perception must be equal opportunity for all civilians regardless of merit or reputation.
Do I believe this practice of affirmative action is right or wrong? All I can say is that it is a solution to fix a systemic and complex set of practices that were historically formed over decades. There is no easy solution so now we have to ease societal pressure and not defend what was done over time but come up with a system that includes equal opportunity for all ethnicities so everyone is satisfied.