Buying into the meritocracy narrative: Men more than women perceive their organizations to be more meritocratic as a function of their structural power

Abstract: Previous research suggests that powerholders tend to view their organizations as meritocratic, which leads them to resist equity-enhancing efforts. However, it is unknown whether the relationship between power and meritocracy perceptions operates similarly for men and women—a critical question given men occupy a majority of leadership positions, giving them disproportionate control over whether organizational inequities are addressed or perpetuated. Three field studies (N = 522,773) on Fortune 500 employees and U.S. government workers find that structural power more strongly predicts meritocracy perceptions for men than women. High-power women report having fewer resources to perform their jobs relative to high-power men. This partially mediates the gender × power interaction in meritocracy perceptions, as it undermines the meritocratic ideal of equal opportunity to succeed. These findings highlight how organizational inequity might go unaddressed because those best equipped to address it –high-power men— are least likely to perceive a need for it.

Keywords: gender, power, hierarchy, field study