The Myth of Meritocracy: Rethinking Inequality in Organizational Studies
Call for Abstracts
March 17, 2025, at Southampton Business School (Hybrid)
Meritocracy, defined as a social system where individuals are positioned and rewarded based on merit (Scully, 1997), has sparked debate since Young (1958) brought it into popular discourse. Supporters argue it ensures equal opportunities, allowing individuals to succeed based on their personal efforts and abilities, irrespective of gender, race, class, or other non-merit factors (see Littler, 2017). However, critics highlight that it can perpetuate inequality by overlooking systemic disadvantages and masking biases under the guise of fairness.
Research shows that despite merit-based practices, gender and ethnic pay gaps persist, with women and minority groups often under-compensated compared to their male and white counterparts, even when qualifications are equal (Castilla & Benard, 2010). Moreover, meritocratic narratives often shift the responsibility for success or failure onto individuals, overlooking the broader institutional and societal factors such as gender, race, social mobility, migration, and class inequalities that hinder equal participation (Bapuji, Ertug, Soundararajan, & Shaw, 2024; Littler, 2017). Recent studies discuss these inequalities are further reinforced by biases in educational systems, particularly in business schools, where meritocratic ideals are taught without critical examination (Eisenman, Foroughi, & Foster, 2024).
This raises critical questions about whether meritocratic principles can truly address inequality and what alternative approaches organizations should consider. The workshop aims to challenge the "myth of meritocracy" by bringing together scholars across disciplines. Through interdisciplinary dialogue, the workshop will explore meritocracy's limitations and explore both theoretical insights and actionable strategies to promote genuine equality in organizations. Some of the key questions the workshop aims to address include:
- How do meritocratic beliefs influence individual cognition, perception, and behaviour?
- How do systemic biases continue to operate within organizations that claim to follow meritocratic practices?
- What role do educational institutions, particularly business schools, play in perpetuating or dismantling these biases?
- What alternative frameworks can organizations adopt to ensure fairer, more inclusive practices?
Keynote speaker
Professor Sam Friedman
Sam Friedman is a Professor of Sociology at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He is a sociologist of class and inequality, and his research focuses in particular on the cultural dimensions of contemporary class division.
Sam is an experienced speaker and has given keynotes in a diverse array of settings, including The UK Civil Service, The Bank of England, The RSA, The BBC, The FCA, KPMG, Baker McKenzie, Channel 4, Ofcom, Greenpeace, Morgan Stanley and The Edinburgh International Television Festival. He asks and answers powerful questions on social classes, divisions in society, and people's perspectives on elitism. Outside of academia, Sam was a Commissioner at the UK Government's Social Mobility Commission between 2018-2021 and since 2021 has sat on ITV's Cultural Advisory Council.
He has published widely on social class, social mobility and elites, and is the author of The Class Ceiling: Why it Pays to be Privileged, Comedy and Distinction: The Cultural Currency of a 'Good' Sense of Humour, and co-author of Social Class in the 21st Century. His new book (with Professor Aaron Reeves) entitled Born to Rule: The Making and Remaking of the British Elite is published in September 2024 with Harvard University Press. The book examines the British elite from the Victorian era to today: who gets in, how they get there, what they like and look like, where they go to school, and what politics they perpetuate.
Panel Discussion in Alphabetical Order:
Professor Bill Harley
Bill Harley is a Professor of Management in the Faculty of Business and Economics at The University of Melbourne. He is best known for his critical work on employee responses to management systems, informed by Labour Process Theory. Bill's work has been published in leading international journals including Journal of Management Studies, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Industrial Relations and Work Employment and Society. He is a co-author of Business Research Methods (OUP). Bill is a past General Editor of Journal of Management Studies and currently Associate Editor of Academy of Management Learning and Education. He chairs The Society for the Advancement of Management Studies.
Professor Roja Fazaeli
Roja Fazaeli is an Established Professor of Law and Islamic Studies at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, University of Galway. She has published widely on the subjects of women's rights in Iran, the relationship between human rights and religion, women religious authorities, and Islamic feminisms. As a recipient of a European Research Council Consolidator Grant, she is the principal investigator of a five-year project (2023-2028) on Building Conceptual and Methodological Expertise for the Study of Gender, Agency, and Authority in Islam (BILQIS).
Professor Fazaeli is a member of a Marie Skodowska-Curie Actions funded project investigating the nature of hate in society (NETHATE). She additionally serves as the chairperson of the board of directors of the Immigrant Council of Ireland. Roja is also member of board of directors for Front Line Defenders, Scholars at Risk Europe, and Iran Academia, as well as being a member of the editorial board of Religion and Human Rights.
Associate Professor Hamid Foroughi
Hamid Foroughi is an Associate Professor in Responsible Management at Warwick Business School and currently serves on the editorial board of Organization Studies. His research focuses on quotidian practices that contribute to the production and perpetuation of inequalities, as well as the creation and maintenance of legacies that resist change. In his work, he uncovers the subtle, often overlooked routines, behaviours, and institutional norms that reinforce systemic disparities over time. By examining how these everyday practices become embedded in organizational and societal structures, he seeks to illuminate the mechanisms that perpetuate inequality and explores pathways for meaningful transformation and reform. His recent research examines how management education normalizes inequality through the reproduction of the myth of meritocracy. He also offers practical and pedagogical avenues to address this issue. Hamid has published extensively on these topics in internationally leading journals, including Academy of Management Annals, Academy of Management Learning and Education, Organization Studies, Journal of Management Studies, and Journal of World Business.
Associate Professor Jane Parry
Dr Jane Parry is an Associate Professor of Work and Employment and UK Parliament Thematic Research Lead on Business, Economics and Trade.
Her applied research looks at how employment, careers and work organisation are changing, and how HRM and policy spheres can respond, with particular expertise on hybrid and flexible working. Jane recently sat on the BEIS working group on The Future of Work, and in 2021 was the highest-ranking academic in HR Magazine's influential thinkers list. A former parliamentary academic fellow for the Parliamentary Office on Science and Technology, Jane undertook research there looking at skills development in policy careers. She led the cross-institutional UKRI/ESRC-funded project Work After Lockdown, and is currently researching flexible working after the pandemic for Acas, and how young people's use of different workspaces affects their productivity.
Agata Western
Agata Western holds an MSc in Strategy, Innovation, and People Management from the University of Galway, where she critically examined the business case approach and explored social justice approaches to diversity initiatives within organisations. She also holds an MA in Psychology from Jagiellonian University in Poland. Agata is a trained consultant in group relations and an experienced trainer and facilitator. As a senior programme manager at the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), she supports Young Academy Ireland members in pursuing their socially minded projects and initiatives. She assists RIA's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) committee and working groups to advance the Academy's EDI agenda.
Agata has a special interest in creating a collaborative and inclusive working environment and understanding EDI through a psychosocial perspective.
Call for Abstracts
The workshop aims to bring together senior academics, early career researchers (ECRs), and PhD students from a range of disciplines, including but not limited to management and organizational studies, sociology, psychology, and anthropology, to foster interdisciplinary research.
The workshop will feature a keynote speaker, a panel discussion, and interactive paper sessions. Each interactive session will involve smaller group discussions, with 4 to 5 papers led by a senior academic facilitator. Priority for paper discussions will be given to PhD students and ECRs, as well as proposals embracing interdisciplinary research.
Abstracts (up to 500 words) should be submitted via email to a.maghzi@soton.ac.uk no later than midnight GMT on 12th February 2025. Decisions will be communicated to authors by 24th February 2025.
The abstract should include:
- Title of the abstract
- Name, title, affiliation and email address of author(s)
- Whether you are interested in attending online or in-person
- Abstract (up to 500 words excluding the reference list)
Financial Support
The workshop is free of charge, and limited funding is available to support the attendance of PhD students. If you require support, please send a personal statement (up to 200 words, including a budget) to accompany your bursary request along with your abstract. Funds are limited, and decisions will be made based on the quality of the abstract and with the aim of increasing the number of attendees.
For any inquiries about the workshop, please contact Dr. Atefeh Maghzi at a.maghzi@soton.ac.uk.
The workshop is sponsored by the Society for the Advancement of Management Studies and Southampton Business School.
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Atefeh Maghzi
Assistant Prof. in Strategy and Entrepreneurship
University of Southampton
Southampton
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