Should social background be more of an attribute to consider when hiring?

Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor is being hailed in some circles as an enlightened approach to filling a position of power for The Good of the People. Others raise concerns that ethnicity is being considered above professional qualification. Just because it’s positive for this minority, might it still be a form of racism and bigotry?

My question for Fluther is broader than this one particular headline. I’m curious what the Collective thinks about the selection of job – any job – candidates being based wholly or in part on a person’s demographic, econo-social status, religion, race, or ethnicity.

Should this criteria be used in some lines of work, but not others? For example, if you argue this is a good thing to do when selecting U.S. Supreme Court justices, what other occupations should also utilize the same criteria? What are some example occupations where this sort of criteria should be explicitly denied?