How does it favor one group or the other to say you can't dicriminate in hiring based on race, sex, or religion?
The devil is in the details. You have to look at what Equal Opportunity laws and policies actually say. Historically they lead to quotas for women, minorities and anyone else that the liberal establishment declares to be "disadvantaged". I happen to believe that this is a bad thing. Just my $.02 on the subject.
Equal Opportunity in education means the same thing. Admit someone with lesser qualifications to a school because they are "disadvantaged" while rejecting others who have superior academic qualifications. This is all done under the guise of "Equal Opportunity". What it really means is "Unequal Opportunity and Favoritism for the Members of Our Group". No thanks.
Sounds like affirmative action not equal employement opportunity to me. You are mixing apples and oranges.
Not allowing discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or religion is a good thing in my opinion and a far cry from affirmative action.