Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

On the Basis of Merit: The Only Fair Way Forward

Opinion

On the Basis of Merit: The Only Fair Way Forward

An abstract illustration of people of different genders, nationalities, and races.

Getty Images, Yevhen Borysov

Merit must be the driving force in business leadership in this country today—in hiring, retention, promotion, and assignment of duties. In order for the American economy and culture to be successful, rewards must be on the basis of merit.

The presumption that diversity, equity, and inclusion are at odds with merit is not only incorrect, it is revolting. Any bifurcation of the U.S. workforce into “DEI-hires” and “merit-hires” is divisive and must be challenged, especially when the DEI label is used to refer to anyone except white men. Merit is distributed across all groups and not the purview of any one group.


The irony is that the theory of meritocracy has been a struggle Americans have faced in government, across economic sectors and throughout society for more than 100 years. The Pendleton Act of 1883 pronounced an end to the familiar practice of awarding federal jobs “on the basis of political affiliation or personal relationships.”

It was revamped and upheld by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.

In his first term as president, Donald Trump introduced Schedule F to restore executive power for appointments, which was undone by President Joe Biden in an attempt to reinstate hiring fairness. Mr. Trump recently signed an executive order to reinstate Schedule F and re-establish executive power in hiring. This is indicative of the ongoing tug-of-war over the scope and scale of the civil service.

The latest top-level Cabinet confirmations – though contested vigorously – and the unprecedented dismantling of DEI efforts in government agencies, companies, universities, and organizations, have rattled what the federal government established with The Merit System, which is upheld by the U.S. Merit Systems Management Board. The system aims to manage the federal workforce and eliminate the “spoils system” of hiring on the basis of political patronage and loyalty, not performance or results.

Hiring on the basis of merit in the government is now at risk.

According to the 2020 updated document, “The merit system principles (MSPs) are nine basic standards that govern the management of the executive branch workforce and serve as the foundation of the federal civil service.’’

The principles include recruitment, equity, and neutrality, with these specific actions to avoid: basing personnel decisions on factors other than merit," and assuring employees are “protected against arbitrary action, personal favoritism, or coercion for partisan political purpose.”

Recent moves show these are not only blatantly ignored by the executive branch today, but trampled. There is pushback, as, recently, the New Mexico Supreme Court upheld all DEI efforts in the state.

To level-set, merit is about results – such as measurable outcomes, acquired skills or education, job performance, competencies, certificates, credentials, problem-solving, innovation, collaboration, and more. Knowing a person’s race, ethnicity, or gender tells us nothing about their merit. Assumptions about a person’s merit that are based upon their race or gender are useless unless they are proven by examination of results.

Not just in government, but in the workplace, subjectivity needs to be removed and replaced with objective comparisons based on ethical and transparent modes of assessment that are tied to specific goals and accomplishments. Legacy, loyalty, alliance, and allegiance are not factors of merit.

The decision to hire, retain, and promote individuals should be based on objective criteria, not on potential, aspirations, likeability, or promises. These decisions are routinely taken by leaders and leading organizations. The best leaders know the power of objectivity in getting the best people from a robust talent pool, but this has not hindered the latest attempts by some major corporations and organizations to model federal compliance and adhere to anti-DEI initiatives with their own shutdowns of programs, resources, and efforts aimed at inclusion.

Pepsico is cutting back on DEI efforts, and Disney recently canceled its Reimagined Tomorrow program to give space to underrepresented voices in the same week that Goldman Sachs and Deloitte each catapulted their diversity programs. The roster of companies that earlier rejected DEI efforts include Meta, Amazon, Google, McDonald’s, and Walmart.

Deloitte has recently jumped onto the anti-DEI bandwagon; a confusing move as Deloitte is the author of the annual global Diversity initiatives report that unequivocally demonstrates the benefits and profitability of diversity initiatives.

“We will sunset our workforce and business aspirational diversity goals, our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Transparency Report, and our DEI programming,” said Deloitte Chief People Officer Doug Beaudoin.

Costco, on the other hand, stands out as a giant operation that is openly rejecting the anti-DEI demands.

Recent research from The Conference Board shows momentum towards race and gender equity in corporate boardrooms has slowed. The number of women in boardrooms increased from 32% in 2023 to 34% in 2024, while the percentage of racially/ethnically diverse directors increased from 25% in 2023 to 26% in 2024. The rest are white and male.

Success is attributed to a leader’s ability to hire, train, retain, and promote those individuals who have merit and produce the results needed. It is not about aspiration or intention; it is about outcomes. Mandating business leaders to follow new rules that constrain them to eliminate valuable employees from the candidate pool will be disastrous, not just for that organization, but for the economy and for America in the short- and long term.

The notion that America is a place where only competent white men – to the exclusion of everyone else – can be in charge is reprehensible. The recent actions of the White House and C-suites to bar diverse candidates from competing for positions is not corrective, it is destructive. It is a conversation based on what leaders are against, not what they are for.

There is no need for anyone in America to hide from the metrics of merit. Merit itself is colorblind and genderblind—like justice.

Barron Witherspoon, Sr. is a TEDX speaker, author of The Black Exec and The Seven Myths, and Second Vice Chair on Tuskegee University’s Board of Trustees.

Read More

The Ivory Tower is a Persisting Legacy of White Supremacy

Conservative attacks on higher education and DEI reveal a deeper fear of diversity—and the racial roots of America’s “ivory tower.”

Getty Images, izusek

The Ivory Tower is a Persisting Legacy of White Supremacy

The Trump administration and conservative politicians have launched a broad-reaching and effective campaign against higher education and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts in particular. These attacks, often amplified by neo-conservative influencers, are not simply critiques of policy or spending. At their core, they reflect anxiety over the growing presence and visibility of marginalized students and scholars within institutions that were not historically designed for them.

The phrase ivory tower has become shorthand for everything critics dislike about higher education. It evokes images of professors lost in abstract theorizing, and administrators detached from real-world problems. But there is a deeper meaning, one rooted in the racial history of academia. Whether consciously or not, the term reinforces the idea that universities are–and should remain–spaces that uphold whiteness.

Keep ReadingShow less
A patient in the hospital holding hands with another person.

A 2024 study showed that the life expectancy gap between white and Black Americans had doubled to 20.4 years by 2021, partially explained by COVID-19 deaths.

Getty Images, FatCamera

Support Healing Now: Resources for Communities of Color Needed

Raised on Chicago’s South Side, I’ve learned that survival is spiritual. My Creole and Trinidadian ancestors labored under systems that were never designed for their flourishing.

Today, as a healer and organizer, I see those same systems manifested in closed schools, subpar health clinics, vacant buildings, and a widening wealth gap. This is a truth in many cities around the country.

Keep ReadingShow less
A child's hand holding an adult's hand.

"Names have meanings and shape our destinies. Research shows that they open doors and get your resume to the right eyes and you to the corner office—or not," writes Professor F. Tazeena Husain.

Getty Images, LaylaBird

What’s In A Name? The Weight of The World

When our son, Naser, was six years old, he wanted to be called Kevin, a perfectly reasonable Midwestern name. This seems to be a rite of passage with children, to name and rename themselves.

But our son was not to know the agonies we went through to name him, honoring our respective South Asian and South American cultures and balancing the phonetics of multiple languages, and why Kevin was not on our short-list.

Keep ReadingShow less
The cast of "English," showcasing at TheaterWorks Hartford.

TheaterWorks Hartford marks its 40th season with English, Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about language, identity, and belonging.

Photo by Julian Barlow

TheaterWorks Hartford Presents “English”: A Deep Dive Into Language, Culture, and Identity

This autumn, class is in session. TheaterWorks Hartford celebrates its 40th season with the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “English” by Sanaz Toossi.

This heartfelt, timely piece is a co-production between TWH and Long Wharf Theater. “English” premieres in Hartford on Oct. 2 and runs through Nov. 2, 2025—before showcasing on Southern Connecticut State University’s campus in January 2026.

Keep ReadingShow less