Professor Emilio Castilla, the academic director of the MIT Immersion of The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova, gave an insightful interview for Visão on “The paradox of meritocracy,” which indicates how practices that emphasize merit and performance can end up triggering biases.

 

According to Professor Emilio Castilla, while organizations focused on measuring merit may aim to avoid biases in recruitment and promotions, the emphasis on performance can actually release the biases of decision-makers. Professor Emilio Castilla explains that achieving true meritocracy requires ensuring equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of demographic characteristics, and promoting and rewarding individuals solely based on merit and talent.

 

However, measuring merit can be challenging, especially in subjective roles, as different individuals may apply different standards. Implementing meritocracy effectively requires defining relevant criteria for performance and fostering agreement among employees.

 

Professor Emilio Castilla warns about the difficulty of overcoming biases and highlights ongoing efforts in companies, particularly in the United States, to remove biases and structural racism from recruitment practices. He discusses the “paradox of meritocracy,” which refers to the potential for merit-based practices to unintentionally perpetuate biases, as exemplified by an experiment where women with equal performance evaluations received lower bonuses when the emphasis was on merit. Professor Emilio Castilla also explores the impact of policies like quotas, acknowledging their importance in addressing issues of underrepresentation but cautioning against potential unintended consequences.

 

He examines the role of social capital and employee referrals in recruitment processes, noting that while they can be valuable, they can also reinforce biases if not managed appropriately. Professor Emilio Castilla emphasizes the importance of networking and activating social capital effectively.

 

As the academic director of the MIT Sloan Immersion component, he emphasizes the school’s commitment to training disciplined and innovative leaders with values that prioritize fair treatment of workers and appropriate people management. The program includes courses on people analytics, people, and profits and encourages students to initiate projects related to these topics. The focus is on employee well-being, the changing dynamics of the workplace, and the recognition that outdated cost-minimization models are no longer effective. Professor Emilio Castilla highlights the enthusiasm of younger generations, who are more socially oriented and receptive to these programs.

 

Read the full article (original) in Portuguese here.

 

Source: Visão