good old boy network
Mutual backscratching club
A good old boy network is an informal system of social and professional connections among men—typically white, Southern, and from similar backgrounds—who help each other with jobs, contracts, and favors.
The term implies that success depends more on personal relationships and insider status than on merit: She couldn't break into the good old boy network that ran the department.
The phrase carries connotations of exclusion, particularly of women and minorities.
- winkBrief one-eyed closure
- handshakeMutual palm-gripping gesture
- gatekeepingControlling access to something
- cliqueExclusive social group
- old moneyLong-established family fortune
fellowship · socialization · glass ceiling · gender role · old boys' club · boys' club · smoke-filled room · barriers to entry · groupthink · systemic bias · peer · in crowd · group dynamics · nepotism · unwritten rules · cronyism · social group · favoritism
- elite networksold boys club, inner circle, inner circles, cronyism, nepotism
good old boy networkmeritocracy
Advancement through demonstrated ability
merit-based system · merit system · blind hiring · competitive examination · civil service exam
good old boy networkopen system
System with external exchanges
equal access · open competition · public accountability · democratic process · open door policy
better, older, oldest, eldest, network, networks, networked, networking, worked