The future of affirmative action in higher education is considered in three papers. In "Age, Sex and Ethnic Trade-Offs in Faculty Employment: You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It Too," Robert H. Linnell examines faculty employment forecasts and factors that could increase faculty openings. It is suggested that it is not possible to support a steadily aging, tenured faculty and extend retirement and create many opportunities for younger minorities and women faculty at the same time. The need to modify or abandon tenure is considered. In "You've Come a Long Way Maybe--or Why It Still Hurts To Be a Woman in Labor," Bernice Resnick Sandler considers major accomplishments improving the status of women in higher education, the backlash against women's rights issues, and undecided key issues. It is claimed that in every field, rank, degree level, and job setting, men earn more than similarly qualified women. In "Can There Be Anything Affirmative About Affirmative Action in the 1980s?" Frank Newman considers the national picture regarding affirmative action, what has been accomplished, and obstacles to progress. It is suggested that affirmative action is losing momentum, and that new efforts should be modeled not on the Office of Civil Rights, but on the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. This approach would involve a shift away from the regulatory approach to reliance on incentives. (SW)