Merit, equity, and the Canadian talent question


The question is not whether standards should remain high, but whether the systems used to recognize merit are broad enough to capture the full range of available talent.

Critics tend to frame diversity initiatives as preferential treatment. Yet, historically, the real preference systems have often been informal, writes Akolisa Ufodike.

The recent decision by the University of Alberta to step back from what critics have described as “race-centric hiring” has reignited a familiar argument: that efforts to broaden representation come at the expense of merit. The claim is politically convenient and rhetorically powerful. But it rests on a misunderstanding of how hiring systems actually work, and the implications extend well beyond one provincially governed university.

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