It’s likely because someone got hired or promoted on “merit.” Merit is a joke. It’s the excuse to hire your best male friend or promote an ass-kisser.
Jessica mentions The Peter Principle in her article, a book intended as satire but that sadly reflects the state of most hierarchies. People get promoted to their level of incompetence and stay there. Written in 1969, a time before DEI, it confirms that merit-based hiring and promotion are bullshit.
To have merit at that time meant you had to be male and either an ass-kisser, related to the boss or excellent at playing golf with the boss. Anyone working in business at this time knew this and to expect incompetence. Lots and lots of competent women and other minorities either couldn’t get hired or stalled at the lowest rungs of the hierarchy.
Because they didn’t have “merit,” or in other words, wrong gender or wrong skin color. It had nothing to do with skill level or abilities. And when you lack the skills or ability to do the job, you get incompetence.
What we need is a fair system, something every human longs for. A system that favors perseverance and aptitude. A system that requires not only merit but also the inclusion of skills necessary to do a competent job.
Uh-oh, I said a bad word: inclusion. Inclusion is part of being fair, and it’s good. It’s excluding people that always gets us into trouble.
The truth is that diversity, equity, and inclusion, along with merit, help find the best person for the job. Merit may be indicated on a resume, and the person may be personable in interviews and able to field your interview questions with aplomb. But do they have the skills and abilities the job requires?
I love examples. I interviewed for a purchasing agent position and was among the top three female candidates. They had their favorite, but the interview committee couldn’t quite make up their mind.
They designed a test, bringing us in separately to answer a quick question. The question? When a scientist orders a chemical from a specific supplier and needs it right away, but you know you can get that chemical cheaper from another supplier, what do you do?
Their top candidate started to cry, and their second candidate sat there, speechless. For me, it’s an easy question. You order what the scientist wants and let them know that it’s cheaper through another supplier.
I got the job. The interview process didn’t drill down to the specific skills and abilities required to perform the job successfully. All our resumes had merit enough to be good candidates.
I’ll leave you with two stories: one about how merit is still often associated with men and a humorous one about a failed meritocracy.
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