ABSTRACT
A powerful anecdote is a story about how someone got a job because they wereAfrican American, female, or handicapped. Heads shake in disgust and dismay about the unfairness. Some warn about disaster if we keep favoring women and minorities and sacrificing competence. Women and minority group members, on the other hand, have mixed feelings-supportive of the principle that competence should not be sacrificed, defensive about steps that correct historic patterns of discrimination, and frustrated that the anecdote itself continues to be told, takes on a life of its own, and evokes such a negative reaction.
