Affirmative action, as already noted in this entry, might serve several distinct equal opportunity goals. Affirmative action including disparate impact restrictions might simply be a cost-effective means to squash disparate treatment that would otherwise escape legal constraints. In a situation where disparate treatment exists but would be hard to prove, disparate impact may be easier to prove. If so, disparate impact laws would be aimed at increasing the degree to which the ideal of careers open to talents is fulfilled.