merit-based selection
Qualifications determine outcomes
Merit-based selection is choosing candidates based on their qualifications, abilities, and performance rather than connections, background, or demographic characteristics.
The phrase appears in discussions of hiring, college admissions, and immigration policy: The company claims to use merit-based selection for all promotions.
Critics debate whether true merit can be measured objectively or whether the concept masks existing advantages.
- hiringGiving someone work
- job interviewFormal hiring assessment meeting
- admissionsActs of letting in
- college admissionsEntry to undergraduate study
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
evaluation · ranking · fairness · level playing field · objectivity · transparency · scoring · bias · impartiality · achievement · cream of the crop · blind audition · peer review · competitions · civil service exams · qualifications · competence · certifications
merit-based selectionnepotism
Preferring kin in hiring
cronyism · favoritism · patronage · hereditary succession · corruption
merit-based selectionaffirmative action
Programs boosting marginalized representation
positive discrimination · diversity hiring · proportional representation · quota system · set-asides