Which executive order established affirmative-action requirements for federal contractors in 1965?

Executive Order 11246 established affirmative-action requirements for federal contractors in 1965.

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the order on September 24, 1965. It required federal contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. Later amendments added sex to the protected categories.

The order built on earlier federal actions. Executive Order 8802, issued by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941, addressed discrimination in defense industries, while Executive Order 9981, issued by Harry S. Truman in 1948, desegregated the armed forces.

Executive Order 11246 did not create a general racial quota system. It established equal-opportunity and affirmative-action obligations for organizations doing business with the federal government, with enforcement responsibilities later associated with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.