Friends, here is another thought that perplexes me.
Each time I meow that we should look at diversity candidates for open roles, I frequently hear a familiar chorus – oh, we are a meritocracy, and all jobs or promotions must be given fairly.
How wonderful that sounds saying out loud as we continue about our business smug and suitably impressed at how smart and fair we are.
But friends – who gets to decide what a meritocracy looks like? What does a meritocratic process cover – and how are the control points managed? Where are the humans in this process and how are their biases mitigated at each step of the process?
Look around you at the people who are getting hired and promoted? How many of them do you think got their role because the hiring manager was completely, 100% unbiased?
The thing is friends, we might THINK that it’s a meritocracy and we are unbiased with our hiring and promotions. But, we are human beings. And we are flawed.
Look closely at the person who is claiming that a meritocratic process must be used for all hiring and promotions and ask them what double blind interview process they went through and what regression analysis was done before they got their role – or the roles they have recently hired for or promoted.
Bottom line – stop saying it’s a meritocracy when at the end of the day, it’s a human being sitting there making the final decision.
This little green witch loves it that you read this post!
#leadership #recruitment #promotions #meritocracy #diversityandinclusion
