The Wealth Gap in Science: How Your Parents's Income Affects Your Career
I think what is missing from a lot of these conversations, particularly in academia, is the topic of meritocracy.<p>Does being black make you a measurably worse candidate (in aggregate)? Does being black mean you will have a harder time succeeding in a meritocracy?<p>If the answer is no, then what we see in terms of results are a matter of personal choice and there is no business in performing interventions.<p>If the answer is yes, then the follow up question is why?<p>If the answer is genetics, that is incredibly hazardous with extremely bleak societal consequences.<p>If the answer is parental wealth, that means as long as black people (in aggregate) are poor, black candidates (in aggregate) are going to be measurably worse.<p>The obvious conclusion that an academic or DEI executive must reach is that meritocracy promotes systemic &quot;-isms&quot;. The obvious conclusion is that the only way to deal with the problem are social programs or reparative efforts (reparations -- such as affirmative action).