<human>:  Could you help me with an overview of the history of affirmative action legislation in the US?
<bot>: Affirmative action legislation in the US dates back to the 1960s, when President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order that sought to end discrimination in government hiring and employment. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order 11246, which required federal contractors to take “Affirmative Action” to ensure equal opportunity in hiring and employment. This was the first formal usage of the term “Affirmative Action”. The 1970s saw the passage of two major federal laws related to affirmative action - the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Both of these laws sought to protect individuals from discrimination based on their gender. In the 1980s, there were several Supreme Court decisions which made it more difficult for institutions to implement affirmative action policies. This led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which allowed for the use of race-based affirmative action in some cases. In recent years, there have been several court challenges to affirmative action policies. In 2016, the Supreme Court voted 4-3 to uphold affirmative action as a permissible way to promote diversity in higher education.