# Executive Order 10925 Signed by President John F. Kennedy on March 6, 1961, EO 10925 introduced the phrase "**affirmative action**" into federal policy, directing government contractors to "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." It created the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity and is the textual origin point of the [[Affirmative Action]] regime later expanded by [[Executive Order 11246]]. ## See Also - [[Affirmative Action]] — The regime this order named - [[Executive Order 11246]] — LBJ's expansion