The myth of meritocracy has its origin in the “just world phenomenon,” the cognitive desire to view our society, the organizations of which we are a part, and ourselves as just and legitimate. Even individuals who are members of groups that have been traditionally disadvantaged — individuals who might perceive subtle discrimination more readily — may perpetuate the myth of meritocracy, especially if they are upwardly mobile. This myth coopts possible system challengers, who instead legitimize the existing social structures. It also gets translated into law by judges who assume that individual failings — and not structural discrimination — are responsible for the numerical disparity between races and sexes. The resulting stringent legal standards make it difficult to prove the existence of structural discrimination.
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