Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#1

Post by droz » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 4:10 PM UTC

Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy
wired.com

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#2

Post by jpeg_hero » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 4:43 PM UTC

Pretty vapid.

Author doesn't seem to be that knowledgable on the valley.

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#3

Post by mathattack » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 4:54 PM UTC

I think it's fair to start with, "No industries or geographies are pure meritocracies." Then it's worth asking, "Where does Silicon Valley fit in the spectrum?"

Is it more or less meritocratic than teaching? Being an actuary? A politician? A banker? A lawyer? Advertising? Writing?

I don't know all of the answers, but my impression is the market forces on startups (Can you get funding? Can you get customers?) at least pushes them towards being meritocratic. Software also is more binary than fields like writing. The program does have to compile and work.

But is it a pure meritocracy? I doubt it.

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#4

Post by kazagistar » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 4:55 PM UTC

Not sure when it became ok to call something a myth without emperical evidence.

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#5

Post by arethuza » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 4:57 PM UTC

mathattack wrote: post #3

I think it's fair to start with, "No industries or geographies are pure meritocracies." Then it's worth asking, "Where does Silicon Valley fit in the spectrum?" Is it more or less meritocratic than teaching? Being an actuary? A politician? A banker? A lawyer? Advertising? Writing? I don't know all of the answers, but my impression is the market forces on startups (Can you get funding? Can you get customers?) at least…

It's worth noting that the term "meritocracy" was defined to be something quite different, and rather more interesting, than it's current usage:

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jun/29/comment

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#6

Post by beachstartup » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 4:59 PM UTC

> But if the tech scene is really a meritocracy, why are so many of its key players, from Mark Zuckerberg to Steve Jobs, white men?

a jewish guy and a half arab guy aren't exactly the best examples of the point this guy's trying to make.

there's also no shortage of asian and indian "key players" so ... i think this guy is trying to make one point, but accidentally making another point altogether, and then failing at it.

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#7

Post by Kurtz79 » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 5:04 PM UTC

beachstartup wrote: post #6

> But if the tech scene is really a meritocracy, why are so many of its key players, from Mark Zuckerberg to Steve Jobs, white men? a jewish guy and a half arab guy aren't exactly the best examples of the point this guy's trying to make. there's also no shortage of asian and indian "key players" so ... i think this guy is trying to make one point, but accidentally making another point altogether, and then failing at…

In what ways a jewish white man is not a white man ?

It's a serious question, are people of jewish faith not considered "white" in the US ?

Re: Silicon Valley Isn’t a Meritocracy

#8

Post by jnovek » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 5:04 PM UTC

mathattack wrote: post #3

I think it's fair to start with, "No industries or geographies are pure meritocracies." Then it's worth asking, "Where does Silicon Valley fit in the spectrum?" Is it more or less meritocratic than teaching? Being an actuary? A politician? A banker? A lawyer? Advertising? Writing? I don't know all of the answers, but my impression is the market forces on startups (Can you get funding? Can you get customers?) at least…

The thing the author is challenging here is not whether Silicon Valley is a meritocracy, but whether it is as much of a meritocracy as its participants believe. It doesn't matter much how it compares to other industries.

In my (limited) experience, among successful founders and investors -- the "trend setters" of startup culture -- there is a widely held notion that anyone with a computer, a good brain, a decent idea, a little bit of luck and the gumption to do some hard work can build a billion dollar company. The author is suggesting that this is not true.