I am an idealist, I must admit it and those of you who follow me can be in absolutely no doubt, but I am not naive and I live in the real world.
Meritocracy is a system in which people progress because they deserve it. The playing field is even and demographics are irrelevant. There is no racism, sexism, ageism or any of those other "-isms" which generate any kind of us and them. In the world of meritocracy there is only "We" and "I", with the latter only being relevant in some circumstances.
One of the worst enemies of this is the idea of quotas. For example Tony Blair said almost 30 years ago that he wanted 50% female Parliamentarians so there would be fair representation. There is nothing wrong with that as an ideal and the more we work towards that level playing field the better. However, the way forward is not to de-select males from standing and choosing only women for certain seats. What she needs is for her qualities to stand out; anything less is patronising, and she deserves to win or lose a seat based on what she brings to the electorate. No men were selected will gnaw at her and frankly it is unfair. Historic chauvinism is not a reason for modern militant feminism. Balance is the way forwards.
This first came to my mind some 20 years ago when I saw an advert in the window of an ice cream parlour and in microcosm it captures the exact problem. The advert basically said:
HIRING
WAITRESS / BARISTA
FEMALE STUDENT aged 19-23
PLEASE APPLY INSIDE
I thought it was a disgrace. The advert itself automatically excluded 50% of the population and that is without even mentioning the age restriction. Don't get me wrong, as a man I definitely prefer being served by a young pretty girl, but the bottom line is that the advert was sexist and ageist at the same time. Furthermore there is no reason why an old man (stated just to be the polar opposite of the actual job posting) couldn't serve ice cream just as well as anybody else. However, and this is the rub, let's imagine that the advert removed the age and gender specification (but might still have been able to use "flexi-hours ideal for students") the fact is that the interviewer would have picked the pretty girl anyway regardless of where she stands in terms of competence and experience...
...and that is where meritocracy falls down, not because of the applicants but because those who decide are inevitably subjective.
I recounted this story to a good friend of mine, who is very religious and conservative (the reason I have stated this from the outset for reasons that will become apparent as the story unfolds). He used to work in a very senior position at a large aggregate company before setting up his own consultancy firm more than 20 years ago and on one occasion they were hiring for somebody post-graduate. After shortlisting and the first round of interviews it came down to two girls aged about 24 with very similar academic qualifications. Apparently one of them looked absolutely stunning and was a real beauty and the other was somewhat more plain-looking (his words not mine).
When asked why she wanted the job, the pretty girl said "I think it is a good starter job in line with my qualifications and I see it as an opportunity to begin working, so that I can gather some experience and move forwards with my career. I am hard working and the kind of person who brings the best I have to any work I ever do."
When asked the same question, the second - more plain-looking girl - answered, 'This would be my dream job, my dad was a geologist and I have always been fascinated by rocks and wanted to work with them. It is why I studied geology. And now here I am with an opportunity to take a job that looks almost like it was designed for me. I would like to think that it is a positive first step with <the company name>which I can subsequently use to both build my career and add value to <the company name> as a grow in experience and knowledge".
Who would you have chosen?
The fact is that both answers were very good, but to me the second answer is the better as she has added something about her passion and the ensuing commitment to the company if given a chance. The first was very much, it is a good opportunity, but other than hard work she offered little other dedication.
With my friend being the only dissenting voice, he was outvoted and they chose the pretty girl and she was due to start in a couple of weeks. My friends tutted in disapproval, but being outvoted he couldn't do a thing about it.
And so how did it work out?
A day before she was due to start the pretty girl phoned and explained that she had received a better offer. She thanked the company for considering her and apologised for messing them about and ended the call. Suddenly they had nobody, so they did what naturally followed. They called the second girl (my friend's first choice) and she quickly explained that while she appreciated the offer that she would have to decline because she had landed another job and not only that but with one of the company's direct competitors. In other words her skills, knowledge and passion were now an asset of the "enemy" (a bit strong, but you get my point), so the company lost in two ways - they lost her talent and a competitor gained it!
When I asked my friend why they didn't go for the second girl straight away his answer shocked me; and even more so because we were in the car with Mama_Rah going to the airport (no kids then though). He said because "They [the other male directors], are a bunch of w**kers, who only think with their d**ks".
Given how religious he is, you can imagine how shocked we were, but once we got over the shock the point he made hit home and it represented the worst kind of chauvinism and not only for the above mentioned reasons about lost of talent to a competitor. It was almost like by employing the pretty girl they would somehow possess her in part and that somehow she would become "theirs". Subtle as it was, it was still a kind of objectification of her and frankly that is the antithesis of meritocracy.
And not only was it wrong, but it came back and bit them on the arse!
Just some food for thought for you.
As always stay safe and well my friends,
