“Inclusive Meritocracy”

I attended a Toastmasters speech contest this morning and arrived a bit early at the site of the contest. It is a building owned by a bank and used for training and along one wall was banners that are intended to encourage and inspire employees. Most of them were generic but one stood out as very different. It read – “Inclusive Meritocracy” and that kind of phrase hooked me at once.

One might think that those two words would not work together. Inclusive is just that everyone is included. On the other hand meritocracy indicates a system where the most intelligent or talented rise to the top. So how can they work together? Well that bank believes that all of its employees have the skills and talents needed to rise to the top and if they exhibit loyalty and initiative then the bank will reward them with promotions. It does not matter what their background may be or their gender they can prosper in that bank.

The question is was that particular banner simply a slogan or is it for real. I have just got to check that out.