nepotists
Family-first employers here
Nepotists are people who practice nepotism—favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs or positions they haven't earned.
The term carries strong disapproval, implying that merit has been bypassed for personal connections: The company was run by nepotists who filled every management position with family members.
Preferential treatment of some
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- old boys' networkInformal elite mutual-aid system
- backscratchingTrading favors mutually
- jobs for the boysBiased hiring favoring connections
spoils system · insider dealing · quid pro quo · clique · cabal · wheeling and dealing · logrolling · camarilla
State of being related
- relativesThose connected by blood
- dynastySuccessive family rulers
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
- lineageDescent from progenitors
clan · offspring · heirs · descendants · progeny · siblings · in-laws · family business
Power to affect others
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
- elitismPreference for privileged rule
- oligarchyRule by few
dominance · control · authority · manipulation · gatekeeping · privilege · clout · stratification
Unfair favor toward some
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- unfairnessUnjust or biased treatment
- inequityUnfair distribution or treatment
- discriminationUnjust differential treatment
partisanship · one-sidedness · subjectivity · preferential · exclusion · injustice · double standards · unequal treatment
Corrupt payment for influence
- graftIllicit political gain
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
- kickbacksIllegal return payments
- venalityOpenness to bribes
sleaze · misappropriation · fraud · unethical conduct · abuse of power · self-dealing · conflict of interest · malfeasance
favoritism
Preferential treatment of some
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- old boys' networkInformal elite mutual-aid system
- backscratchingTrading favors mutually
jobs for the boys · spoils system · insider dealing · quid pro quo · clique · cabal · wheeling and dealing · logrolling · camarilla · collusion
kinship
State of being related
- relativesThose connected by blood
- dynastySuccessive family rulers
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
lineage · clan · offspring · heirs · descendants · progeny · siblings · in-laws · family business · hereditary
influence
Power to affect others
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
- elitismPreference for privileged rule
oligarchy · dominance · control · authority · manipulation · gatekeeping · privilege · clout · stratification · hegemony
partiality
Unfair favor toward some
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- unfairnessUnjust or biased treatment
- inequityUnfair distribution or treatment
discrimination · partisanship · one-sidedness · subjectivity · preferential · exclusion · injustice · double standards · unequal treatment · predisposition
bribery
Corrupt payment for influence
- graftIllicit political gain
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
- kickbacksIllegal return payments
venality · sleaze · misappropriation · fraud · unethical conduct · abuse of power · self-dealing · conflict of interest · malfeasance · crookedness
nepotistsmeritocrats
Those advanced by talent
egalitarians · talent scouts · technocrats · objectivists · reformers
- nepotism babiesChildren advanced through family