Meritocracy and competency

Art 3 of the Italian Constitution: "All citizens have equal social dignity and are equal before the law, without distinction of sex, race, language, religion, political opinion, personal and social conditions".¹

Meritocracy' is a concept, a principle that refers to a social or organisational system in which positions, opportunities and rewards are distributed according to individual merit, i.e. the skills, competencies and work done by each individual. In a meritocratic society, success, advancement and access to resources are determined by one's abilities and achievements, rather than by factors such as social origin, family background, gender or other personal characteristics not related to merit; however, the practical application of meritocracy can be complex and subject to different interpretations. The idea behind meritocracy is that by giving people the opportunity to progress according to their abilities, a fairer and more efficient system is created in which people who contribute more or show greater commitment receive greater rewards and more opportunities than those who do not. However, the practical realisation of meritocracy can be complex and contested, as challenges such as unequal access to education, structural inequalities and implicit biases that may influence the objective assessment of merit can arise. [...]