MEI v DEI What is MEI and why is it gaining attention in hiring and promotions?

Move over DEI, there’s a new kid in town when it comes to hiring and promoting frameworks.

Introducing MEI—known as merit, effort and intelligence.

MEI is making headlines after Trump and his new sidekick Elon Musk popularised it after speaking out against DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs. In Australia, the anti-DEI movement is growing after the ASX decided to abandon a proposal that would have forced public companies to report on diversity characteristics.

From a hiring perspective, MEI simply means that organisations hire only the best person for the job, seek out and demand excellence and prefer smart people. 

Not quite. What critics of DEI get wrong is that considering diversity in hiring means ignoring all other qualifications. Because neurologically, socially, and psychologically, we are wired to pick the person who thinks, looks, and acts like us. Given the imbalance of power and privilege, that’s a problem for everyone who doesn’t look like the ‘typical’ employee.

On top of that, for organisations that want to innovate, representation is key. Diverse workplaces foster creativity and allow topics to be addressed from all angles. 

So like anything, there’s a good and bad. MEI has a place in promoting employees, but probably not hiring. It’s also fair to say that there’s good DEI and bad DEI. Trump and Elon advocate for DEI because they think it’s toxic and everywhere—which is wrong. But DEI advocates are equally wrong to downplay or deny the damage that bad DEI can do to an organisation. 

Ultimately, your organisation should look for the best talent for any job but also recognise that ‘talent’ doesn’t always come from the same place. It’s not always from top ATAR band students or elite university colleges.

To help you figure out what’s the best policy for your organisation, let’s we’ll explore if there’s anything wrong with MEI, if DEI needs to be revisited and what’s going to catch on in 2025. 

Is MEI ‘meh’?

MEI is simply different words being applied to the old and failed concept of meritocracy.

Until modern DEI research and concepts emerged in the ‘80s and '90s, progress for women and anyone who looked different to a typical white investment banker was painfully slow. 

And so thirty or so years ago, meritocracy was thrown into the bin because it’s built on criteria that reflect the status quo. On top of that, it assumes that hiring managers can look at something objectively, and we just can’t do that. There are several studies on hiring bias displayed during resume reviews, often based on names and recruiters preferring applicants with more “Australian” names. 

Merit and diversity don’t oppose each other. They don’t have to operate separately and that is the point that Elon and Trump are trying to make. It shouldn’t operate differently. But they are wrong to suggest that hiring managers are free from biases in selecting the best talent for the job, because they’re only human. 

Okay, so does the ‘m’ stand for missing the point? 

MEI is a dangerous simplification of the fact that some people are different and come from different backgrounds and that all needs to be noted and taken into consideration when hiring and promoting. 

While we’re over the bump when it comes to diversity and inclusion, both from a racial as well as gender perspective, we still have to cross the river, climb the mountain, get out of the valley, and summit the mountain. And keep on going. There’s still a long way to go and organisations are delusional if they think that there is no place for DEI.

What’s right about MEI? 

If your organisation is thinking about throwing out DEI for MEI, it’s important to listen to them and hear them out. And in reality, it has a big part to play when it comes to goal planning, KPIs and strategies. 

Try to advocate for MEI to have a place in performance reviews and promotions rather than hiring. Making promotions based on MEI can help stem some of that bias and put more underrepresented groups in leadership roles. 

But the conversation brings about an important point to raise. DEI isn’t necessarily about merit. There’s clearly an anti-DEI movement and it is, ironically, unintelligent.  

The assumption behind MEI, that a merit-based system will automatically produce diversity is not only flawed but dangerously naive. Highlighting and promoting on merit is a good thing. You can also value diversity at work without making it ‘the dimension’ people are hired on. 

Future of DEI

Merit, excellence, and intelligence—we want all of those things in organisations. But DEI is so entrenched in hiring workflows. It’s unlikely that MEI is going to really catch on.

But the attention on this topic is positive. It’s creating a conversation, and regardless of where you’re organisation stands on MEI or DEI, you should welcome the conversation. 

It’s an opportunity for you to clear up that merit and diversity aren’t at odds. Hiring the best person for the job is something every organisation should strive for. Organisations need to look forward, not backward. Falling back on the myth of meritocracy is not a path to long-term success. 

Generally speaking, MEI requires HR policy to cast a wide net for talent and use objective criteria for electing the best candidates. And surprisingly, there are a lot of aspects of MEI that are actually, perhaps surprisingly, aligned with the goals of DEI.

It’s natural to think that positions or values are different. But in reality, there’s a lot in common and the conflict arises in the people that espouse views and beliefs as opposed to the policy itself.

DEI is about levelling the playing field so that everyone has an equal opportunity to compete. When you do that, diversity almost always follows as a matter of course. Small changes often have a notable impact. For example, most organisations do most of these things and these have a profound impact on DEI:

• Investing in analytics and measurement tools to identify which departments or job bands have disparities in terms of diversity, pay rates, promotion rates
• Requiring that every interview include women and people from different backgrounds
• Redacting names on resumes

But ultimately the reason why MEI isn’t sustainable is because no hiring manager is entirely free from bias. 

So while Trump and Elon might think we‘re over the hill when it comes to diversity and inclusion, we’re not. And if your organisation removes DEI, hiring managers will go back to hiring people who look like them.

MEI and DEI isn’t about choosing one over the other, rather it’s about understanding that the best hiring and promotion practices balance merit with diversity. 

About Martian Logic

Martian Logic has been empowering HR teams with simple, scalable solutions that let organisations thrive. Our intuitive HRIS streamlines every aspect of HR—from recruitment and onboarding to performance tracking and internal mobility. With robust analytics and real-time insights, our platform helps you make data-driven decisions that balance merit with diversity. Whether you’re refining your hiring processes or rethinking promotions, Martian Logic gives you the tools to build a more effective, people-centric workplace. Contact us today and discover how Martian Logic can boost engagement, retention, and long-term success.