The Mantra of Meritocracy

By Rachael Goodman and Sarah Kaplan

The idea of meritocracy has long pervaded conversations about how economic growth occurs in the United States. The concept is grounded in the belief that our economy rewards the most talented and innovative, regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic status, and the like. Individuals who rise to the top are supposed to be the most capable of driving organizational and economic performance.

More recently, however, concerns about the actual effects of meritocracies are rising. In the case of gender, research across disciplines shows that believing an organization or its policies are merit-based makes it easier to overlook the subconscious operation of bias. People in such organizations assume that everything is already meritocratic, and so there is no need for self-reflection or scrutiny of organizational processes. In fact, psychologists have found that emphasizing the value of merit can actually lead to more bias in favor men.

Read the full (paywalled) commentary in Stanford Social Innovation Review: The Mantra of Meritocracy