The Myth of Meritocracy: Let's Talk About Fairness at Work

A Real-Life Story from a Workshop

Picture this (true story, BTW): we're in the middle of a lively discussion at a workshop aimed at making businesses more respectful of human rights. Suddenly, the conversation shifts to gender bias and unequal pay - big issues that many companies are grappling with. Then, in response to this conversation about workplace biases, one participant claims his workplace is all about meritocracy, implying that gender pay gap is either blown out of proportion or, at least, doesn't/can't exist in his world. While it's easy to brush this off as just one person's view, it actually opens up a can of worms about how we think about fairness, bias, and success in our jobs.

Now, to be very, very clear, I don't blame the guy for mentioning this. I hear the same thing a lot. Which is, I think, why we need to discuss it more openly. Our conditioning in the existing framing of gender bias, i.e. within an operating frame of patriarchy, means we are not trained to realise that models borne of patriarchy reinforce patriarchy, whether intentional or otherwise.

The Meritocracy Myth

Meritocracy sounds like a great concept: everyone gets ahead based on their hard work and talent, right? Well, not exactly. When you take a closer look, you start to see all these hidden traps - like biases and unfair barriers - that make this ideal pretty hard to achieve in real life. It's especially tough for women, who often face a steep uphill battle when it comes to pay and recognition. And let's not forget;

any system born out of a society that hasn't always been fair to everyone is likely to carry some of those unfair habits forward. Unrecognised flaws breed flaws.

Why Defending Meritocracy Can Be Tricky

When someone jumps to defend the idea of meritocracy, it's usually because they want to - and do - believe that the system works fairly for everyone. But it doesn't. This kind of reaction actually stops us from talking about the real issues and figuring out how to fix them.

But remember, it's not about pointing fingers; it's about opening minds to a different truth.

It is more about understanding that it's super common (and human) to want to stick up for the status quo, especially if you've never felt the sting of bias yourself, if you are of an undiscriminated class, like me (the male, pale, and stale class).

Listening to Your Gut and Your Brain

Dealing with workplace bias means sometimes you've got to go with your gut feeling that something's not right. Other times, you need cold, hard facts and data to understand the full picture. Either way, someone simply pointing it out can be a great catalyst. This mix of intuition and intellect is crucial when we're trying to get to the bottom of gender bias and make things fairer for everyone. While we instinctively jump to the defence of what we are told is a good thing, it behooves us to ask hard questions about whether this is really true and borne out by the facts.

What We Say vs. What We Do

Moreover, have you noticed how many companies talk a big game about equality and fairness, holding up their ideal of being a meritocracy as some sort of proof, but in fact don't always walk the walk? How many companies do you have personal experience of that say they are addressing gender pay gap but don't eliminate their salary secrecy policy? How many companies have you seen that talk about Board diversity, and think they demonstrate that by adding one women, or one minority, to their pale, male, stale Board? That's the tricky part about public promises and private actions. Just like the writer Joan Didion pointed out, there's often a gap between what we say in public and what we really think or do in private. On sexual discrimination, the gap between rhetoric and reality is more often than not, a yawning one. This gap makes it super hard to tackle the real reasons behind unequal pay and opportunities at work.

So, What's Next?

This story from a workshop isn't just a one-off thing; it's a window into the bigger challenge of making workplaces truly fair. It's about digging deep, challenging our own assumptions, and having the tough conversations that go beyond just surface-level promises. The research out there, like the studies by authors such as Zheng, Castilla, Foster, and Tsarfati, is a goldmine for understanding the hidden snags (and downright deceit) in the idea of meritocracy and how they impact real people's lives and careers.

In the end, the path to a more equitable workplace is all about opening our eyes to the realities around us, even if it means questioning the very foundations we've taken for granted. And while it might seem like a never-ending journey, especially for someone like me who's never had to face these biases head-on, it's a journey well worth taking if we want to build organisations that are truly fair and respectful to everyone.

A Big Thank You

I want to give a shoutout to one of the workshop participants who inspired me to share these thoughts. It's conversations like these that help us see the world from different perspectives and, hopefully, make it a bit better for everyone involved. Here's to making those tough but necessary changes, one step at a time!