Want Meritocracy? Then You Need DEI.

I am all for meritocracy—true meritocracy.

The misguided belief that you have to sacrifice excellence in order to have a diverse team has existed for a long time. It is seeing a resurgence now as part of the anti-DEI backlash.

The fact is that you won’t have a true meritocracy without diversity, equity, and inclusion.

When hiring, you can’t say that you found the best person if you don’t start with a diverse pool of candidates. If you source based on referrals from employees or your neighbors, you won’t see the range of talented people who are available.

Of course, once they’re hired, you want to provide employees with equitable access to opportunities and the support that they need to do their best work. Support can range from accessibility aids like standing desks to performance coaching in particular areas. As Dr. Robert Livingston of the Harvard Kennedy School says, “Equity is about treating employees differently in ways that make sense.”

And you don’t need to read studies to know that employees will work hard for you if they feel valued and appreciated. That sense of belonging is the result of the intentional work of inclusion. Those efforts start with a good onboarding process, and continue with mentoring. 

A senior partner at a law firm once told me that they didn’t have a mentoring program when they came up. "The cream naturally rises to the top,” he said. 

I thought to myself: Seriously? I have yet to meet a senior person who hasn’t benefited from mentoring. 

I asked him if anyone had given him guidance when he was an associate. 

“Oh, yes,” he said. Turns out the founder of the firm had taken him under his wing, staffed him on deals, introduced him to clients…But since this wasn’t a “program,” this partner believed that he rose solely due to his own merit. 

If you believe in meritocracy, then you should have nothing to fear from diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

In fact, true meritocracies need all three.