Merit-Based Management Demands DEI
Backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion has grown, but DEI practices can actually promote the goals of merit-based management.
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Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR
Many critics of DEI programs view them as undermining meritocracy, but research has continually found that practices supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential for achieving true meritocracy in the workplace. DEI practices can expand companies’ pools of qualified applicants and promote fairer, more objective assessments of merit, to the benefit of all job candidates and employees.
Recent harsh backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices marks a pivotal moment for organizations worldwide. Once seen as essential to social progress and organizational success, these programs now face intensified scrutiny, with critics challenging their fairness and many seeking to dismantle them entirely. In this contentious climate, organizations must grapple with addressing challenges to DEI efforts while fostering workplaces that are fair for everyone.
Although “diversity” includes gender, ability, religion, veteran status, and other identities, much criticism of DEI focuses almost exclusively on race. Seeking an alternative to what they describe as racial quota-based DEI programs, critics have called for a return to so-called merit-based systems that award opportunities solely based on individual performance and qualifications rather than identity.
At face value, meritocracy may seem like a neutral and fair approach to managing talent. Ideally, decisions about hiring, promotion, and recognition would be based solely on individual skills, qualifications, and performance. However, research has consistently shown that meritocracy is more of an aspiration than it is a reality. Specifically, the “paradox of meritocracy” reveals that when managers believe that their organization strongly values merit, they tend to see themselves as objective and unbiased. This self-perception can make them less likely to scrutinize their own biases. As a result, they may unknowingly favor those who fit traditional norms — such as White, male, or U.S.-born individuals — while disadvantaging others, including people of color, women, and non-U.S. citizens, all while believing that they are being fair.
Studies have found that job-irrelevant factors — such as gender, age, physical attractiveness, veteran status, and religion — can compound the issue by significantly shaping managers’ perceptions and influencing hiring and promotion outcomes. These implicit and explicit biases undermine fair evaluations, preventing qualified individuals from being appropriately recognized or rewarded.
DEI Practices Bolster Merit-Based Approaches
Bias is not a new problem. Civil rights legislation and executive orders from the 1960s were intended to address the historical reality that “merit” has often been defined in ways that favor a privileged few — especially those already in power. Today, many of those protections are under threat, and some have been rolled back entirely, making it even more important to critically examine how merit is defined and applied.