Meritocracy and gender in management and organisations

This chapter focuses on the meanings, practices and challenges connected to meritocracy in organisations, and in particular on the tensions associated with the link between meritocracy and the persistent gender inequalities in organisational settings. Following a definition and an historical overview of the concept of meritocracy, the chapter provides a summary discussion of extant research in management and organisation studies that addresses the meritocracy-gender nexus. It highlights that, whilst the notion of meritocracy continues to retain positive connotations, research suggests that the belief in the discourse of meritocracy and the application of meritocratic principles in recruitment and promotion persistently result in the reproduction of organisational inequalities.