Meritorious bs

Because of the CBA mess, there has been some debate about company board appointments being based on merit or gender.

Cue the usual outrage…

But we all know it’s true, some dodgy women have got roles they aren’t qualified for, just to make up the quota.

The trouble with business, even the oligarchy that is the Australian corporate landscape, is that it is ruthlessly measured in a single metric, profit.

Only the skilled are successful. This is because someone else’s loss is my gain. To be in the top half of performance, one needs to be in the top half of capability.

It’s not about merit. It’s about results.

Only a fool would generalise that because one woman failed, they all would. The same sort of fool would also suggest that all men are fools.

Psychology studies have shown that tokenism is a bad way to effect change. A token (say gender) appointment that goes wrong is likely to enforce prejudices against the minority by a factor of 8.

As I said, fools!