The problem with such an academic (pun!) view is it misses the politicization of gender and race in society. That's why you get the "oh look they think they nee

The problem with such an academic (pun!) view is it misses the politicization of gender and race in society. That's why you get the "oh look they think they need more of a certain gender or ethnicity". Additionally, you're casting an individual who happens to have certain characteristics as a member of a group of people who share those characteristics (and more often than not it's a concentration on a very particular characteristic as opposed to the individual as a whole). "We need more black women in the student body" is not a valid reason to take on a specific black woman as a student. Of course, dismissing that woman based on those characteristics is also ridiculous. Like you've said, this is a very complex topic that definitely requires further research. The pity is that operational regulations (and in a few cases even laws) are being changed before this research has had a chance to take place.