Changing perceptions of meritocracy in senior women's careers

摘要

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to explore how an elite group of senior women in bankingrnrepresent and describe their understanding and experience of the role of meritocracy, within therncontext of their own career.rnDesign/methodology/approach - Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 seniorrnfemale directors from six global investment banks. Template analysis was used in the qualitativernanalysis of the coding.rnFindings - The paper found that the women's adherence to the notion of meritocracy diminishedrnover time, as merit appeared to be less defined by human capital (ability and experience) and more byrnsocial capital (seen as political behaviour). The paper also reveals how the concept is construed on twornlevels: first, on a symbolic level, demonstrating how the organization defines and rewards success;rnsecond, on a personal level, how it affects the individual's cognitions, emotions and self-belief.rnOriginality/value - This paper contributes to the small literature on the concept of meritocracy inrnthe management field, with an emphasis on the experiences of successful female directors in globalrninvestment banks.