Since you are referring to affirmative action and hiring quotas as “real barriers” I would guess that you haven’t really been in a situation where you the first

Since you are referring to affirmative action and hiring quotas as “real barriers” I would guess that you haven’t really been in a situation where you the first/only person of your gender or race (etc) to do something. In that case (since you haven’t lacked representation) I’m not sure how well you can speak to its importance. But please correct me if im wrong.