The Paradox of Meritocracy

Can meritocracy make things fairer? Does it level the playing field?

A meritocracy is a system where power and advancement are granted to individuals based solely on talent, effort, ability, and achievement. That we will be evaluated based solely on performance as measured through objective criteria and demonstrated achievement.

The problem is the premise of meritocracy. The assumption is that evaluations in the workforce are objective, despite research and knowledge that we as human beings, social beings with different experiences, are incapable of being completely objective. So then, if we know that, we should be more realistic about the limitations of meritocracy principles in organizations.

Indeed, research overwhelmingly confirms that much of our evaluation in hiring and promoting is NOT based on purely objective criteria, despite our utopian belief and desire for this to be the case.

So, this episode of the #advancingwomenpodcast holds the idea of meritocracy and women’s advancement up the scrutiny of the scientific knowledge of human behavior, biases, and blind spots, as well as the erroneous assumptions that guide meritocratic ideologies which ultimately serve to hinder women’s advancement. #tunein

References

Staniscuaski, F. (2023). The science meritocracy myth devalues women. Science, 379(6639), 1308-1308.

van Dijk, H., Kooij, D., Karanika-Murray, M., De Vos, A., & Meyer, B. (2020). Meritocracy a myth? A multilevel perspective of how social inequality accumulates through work. Organizational Psychology Review, 10(3-4), 240-269.

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/01/the-myth-of-meritocracy-according-to-michael-sandel/

For more about Dr. DeSimone and the Advancing Women Podcast

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