The Power of Stereotypes and Need for “Affirmative Meritocracy”
Posted by The Situationist Staff on June 3, 2012 When it comes
to affirmative action, the argument usually focuses on
diversity. Promoting diversity, the Supreme Court ruled in 2003,
can justify taking race into account. But some people say this
leads to the admission of less qualified candidates over better
ones and creates a devil’s choice between diversity and merit.
Not so, says Stanford psychologist Greg Walton. Diversity and
meritocracy are not always at odds. In fact, sometimes it is
only by taking race and gender into account that schools and
employers can admit and hire the best candidates, Walton argues
in a paper slated for publication in the journal Social Issues
and Policy Review with co-authors Steven J. Spencer of the
University of Waterloo and Sam Erman of Harvard University.
Walton, an assistant professor of psychology, and Spencer plan
to present their findings to the Supreme Court in an amicus
brief in Fisher v. University of T