It so glaringly obvious as to be cartoonish.

If Merit for a position in management is defined on how much you prefer to kiss ass instead of how competent you are in running a business, or on how you look and sound rather than how qualified you actually are when applying for a position that requires quantifiable, recorded talent, knowledge and experiance, then you aren't going to be the best qualified person that will actually get work done or can handle change and emergencies.

Sorry for the long paragraph, but the amount and type of qualifications for leadership in large, complex organizations is not the same qualification for leadership to get an immediate task done.
And honestly, just being a "pretty face" and sucking up to ideology or money is only a qualification to either be attractive enough to provide entertainment, sell worthless crap or be accepted into a particular ideological club to get money.

I find that in the above situation, providing entertainment to the most honest way to get ahead; one does need to exhibit a certain amount of native talent entertaining others and in most cases, one is doing less harm to society in general.

On edit - it is clear that Merit as defined by Prosperity Gospel Christianity and the Heritage Foundation types is defined by how much wealth you or your family have acquired and if you appear to have the right "genes".
Merit in MAGA has nothing to do with talent, knowledge, ethics, or positive personal characteristics.

in adding up "merit" as well.

How else would the unmeritorious offspring of white America take their rightful place among the unmeritocratic elite?

Hegseth is the poster boy.

Have any merit whatsoever

meritocracy when, in practice, the whole structure of the cult is to give favor to people who demonstrate unquestioned loyalty. The net result is the exact opposite of a meritocracy; it's a kakistocracy. One of the saddest consequences of this week's actions is that tens of thousands of experts and career servants with YEARS of education and training will now be replaced by the types we see at MAGA rallies who filled out an online job application that Stephen Miller is probably sorting through now. Climate scientists can now be replaced by your average Fox News viewer.

It's pathetic and absurd.

all the "best" jobs, which tended to be overpaid to begin with because of the concept of the "family wage," designed to kick women out of the labor force. It is all about white male entitlement.

They can't stand it there is competition now, and women aren't going back.

Thank you. I appreciate your post about this.

Meritocracy doesn’t work when some people benefit from the system disproportionately. The idea that equal opportunity, self-determination, and post-racism is a noble idea, but it is not reality.

IMO, it simply cannot be right that a country as affluent and wealthy as ours leaves so many hopelessly behind, without any real opportunity to succeed. To play like we will all succeed if we just put forth the effort is simply not true, and to accept it seems cold-hearted, mean-spirited. Our country should be at the very least embarrassed that we have allowed this to happen over time.

The wealthy and powerful have created almost all of this because the public has supported the idea each of us can determine our on destiny. It simply is not true.

Meritocracy causes people to blame themselves for outcomes when in reality the system is almost guaranteeing our inequality.

Anything that benefits the white dudes, including veterans preference, which IS a form of affirmative action, is okay, but anything that helps everybody else, especially women, is "bad."

Nepotism has always been huge in hiring and promotions, and these tend to help white dudes.

only white males of the 'correct' religion have merit.

Some women can be put in positions, sometimes, but they must be conventionally attractive and willing to perform sexual favors when they are demanded by the white males in charge.

It is indeed the boy's club....or rather the He Man Woman Haters Club.

Local school funding means de-facto segregation and better education for privileged whites.
When I attended private high school, there was one female in our math and science heavy classes.

White males fear the population trends, proving the fact of "privilege" for themselves.

while fields men dominate in tend to be overpaid on purpose thanks to the "family wage" concept. It is all designed to buttress the marriage system and by extension patriarchy by forcing women to partner with men in order to get financial support while men get sexual access to women. It has always been that way, but "experts" are somehow skittish to tell the truth about it.

It is so obvious what undergirds sex-segregation in the workforce, but the suggestion often given women need to go into the mostly shitty "men's" jobs is shortsighted. That is because when women dominate a previously male-dominated field, the pay and "prestige" always goes down. ALWAYS.

Male "sex-right" has to be preserved at all costs, and the easiest way to keep it is to starve women financially to force dependence on men.

Being a techie, it was insanely obvious, and I suppose that there other entire fields.

Not just subtle pressure but vicious and hateful derision, as in President of the U.S.

The scientific and technical achievements of women are awesome, but those who did were pioneers in hostile territory.

Not to disagree, but to extend the metaphor beyond just crappy jobs.

cronyism, nepotism, and legacy hiring and promoting. DEI is basic American values.

E pluribus unum is the US motto. "From many, one." Or, "one from many."

Equity is equality for everyone.

Inclusion is liberty and justice for ALL, not just for some.

for the rich getting tax breaks. A progressive tax structure doesn't reward the successful, in their eyes.

Meritocracy is and always has been rare. Trump's picks are not based on any kind of merit, but rather a mix of thinking they will be 100 percent loyal to him and that they will be hated by us. This is worse than even the worse of the "old boy's club" many of us saw.

Then, a boss, almost always white and make, often without even thinking about it favored someone who seemed to be a young version of how they saw themself. Hard working, capable, smart etc. Needless to say, that favored candidate was unlikely to be POC or female. This was the soft side of systemic racism and sexism which were less obvious. In many cases, both the bosses and the employee could be "nice" and respected in their community. This was why, as you said, programs to counter this are needed.

Donald Jr
Eric
Ivanka