The plan was designed to help women and minorities overcome discrimination in the workplace.

minorities 是名词 minority 的复数形式。minority 由词根 minor（较小的、次要的）和后缀 -ity（表示状态或性质）组成，字面意思是"少数状态"，指在数量或地位上处于弱势的群体。在句中特指"少数族裔"或"少数群体"。