{"id":315,"date":"2025-06-20T20:51:30","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T20:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/?p=315"},"modified":"2025-06-23T18:57:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T18:57:41","slug":"castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/","title":{"rendered":"Castilla&#8217;s New Book &#8220;The Meritocracy Paradox&#8221; Available for Pre-order"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-309 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mitsloan-php.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-faculty\/sites\/86\/2025\/06\/20170026\/Meritocracy-Paradox-against-Adobe-Background-e1750704225764.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" \/><\/p>\n<p>MIT Sloan Professor Emilio J. Castilla\u2019s new book, <em>The Meritocracy Paradox: <\/em><em>Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them<\/em>, can now <a href=\"https:\/\/cup.columbia.edu\/book\/the-meritocracy-paradox\/9780231208420\/\">be pre-ordered from the publisher<\/a>, Columbia University Press. Here is what advance readers have said about the book:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe Meritocracy Paradox<\/em> is an extremely timely account of how we should consider merit in the workplace\u2014and why we typically don\u2019t\u2014that has the rare combination of being academically rigorous, insightful, and also fun to read. Highly recommended.\u201d\u2014<strong>Peter Cappelli, author of <em>Our Least Important Asset: Why the Relentless Focus on Finance and Accounting Is Bad for Business and Employees <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cCastilla leverages rigorous research to document how and why meritocratic ideals have failed to ensure equal opportunity, and he proposes workable recommendations for making workplaces fairer. His analysis is particularly resonant in the current milieu. This timely book merits close attention\u2014from business and education leaders, policy makers, scholars, and anyone else seeking more effective organizations and a more just society.\u201d \u2014<strong>James Baron, William S. Beinecke Professor of Management, Yale School of Management <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeritocracy is an ideal for most of us. Yet in the pursuit of that ideal, we easily blind ourselves to many forms of unfairness. Castilla\u2019s illuminating book, based on decades of research, shows what it takes to achieve a true meritocracy\u2014and the many traps to avoid along the way. A cautionary tale and essential guidebook for the current times, it will open your eyes to how real fairness operates.\u201d\u2014<strong>Herminia Ibarra, The Charles Handy Professor of Organisational Behaviour, London Business School<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn <em>The Meritocracy Paradox<\/em>, Castilla offers a timely exploration of the promise\u2014and hidden perils\u2014of meritocracy in contemporary organizations. Drawing on decades of rigorous research, he reveals with clarity and insight how even the best-intentioned practices can unintentionally reinforce inequality. This book equips readers with practical, evidence-based strategies to ensure that workplace personnel decisions are fair and effective. A must-read for scholars, managers, and anyone committed to building better organizations.\u201d\u2014<strong>Lauren A. Rivera, author of <em>Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ideal of meritocracy is fundamental to organizations\u2019 ability to attract and retain talented workers yet is often not achieved in practice. Drawing on extensive research, this book provides valuable insights as to how organizations can truly promote high performance, fairness, diversity, and opportunity for all.\u201d\u2014<strong>Arne L. Kalleberg, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlending rigorous empirical work, compelling theoretical insights, and thoughtful practical guidance, <em>The Meritocracy Paradox<\/em> is essential reading for organizations seeking to improve their talent-management systems as well as scholars seeking to understand the complex ways that meritocracy actually operates within the world of work.\u2014David S. Pedulla, author of <strong><em>Making the Cut: Hiring Decisions, Bias, and the Consequences of Nonstandard, Mismatched, and Precarious Employment<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe Meritocracy Paradox<\/em> is a landmark contribution from one of the most insightful organizational scholars of our time. With empirical precision and deep humanity, Castilla gives us a practical, evidence-based guide to understanding how fairness falters in business, education, and government\u2014and how we can still get it right.\u201d \u2014<strong>Andr\u00e1s Tilcsik, coauthor of<em> Meltdown: Why Our Systems Fail and What We Can Do About It<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Emilio J. Castilla is the NTU Professor of Management and a professor of work and organization studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he is also codirector of the <a href=\"https:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/institute-work-and-employment-research\/about-iwer\">MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research<\/a>. Castilla\u2019s research focuses on organizations, networks, and workplace inequality, with a particular emphasis on the social dynamics of work and employment.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; MIT Sloan Professor Emilio J. Castilla\u2019s new book, The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them, can now be pre-ordered from the publisher, Columbia University Press. Here is what advance readers have said about the book: \u201cThe Meritocracy Paradox is an extremely timely account of how we should [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":523,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.0 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Castilla&#039;s New Book &quot;The Meritocracy Paradox&quot; Available for Pre-order - Emilio J. Castilla<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MIT Sloan Professor Emilio J. Castilla\u2019s new book, &quot;The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them&quot; can now be pre-ordered from the publisher, Columbia University Press.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Castilla&#039;s New Book &quot;The Meritocracy Paradox&quot; Available for Pre-order\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MIT Sloan Professor Emilio J. Castilla\u2019s new book, &quot;The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them&quot; can now be pre-ordered from the publisher, Columbia University Press.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Emilio J. Castilla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-20T20:51:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-23T18:57:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/86\/2025\/06\/Meritocracy-Paradox-against-Adobe-Background-e1750704225764.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mangelsd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mangelsd\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/\",\"name\":\"Castilla's New Book \\\"The Meritocracy Paradox\\\" Available for Pre-order - Emilio J. Castilla\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/86\/2025\/06\/Meritocracy-Paradox-against-Adobe-Background-e1750704225764.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-20T20:51:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-23T18:57:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/#\/schema\/person\/276b44b8dbb6bf46d3d1ad9f0cf3c0fe\"},\"description\":\"MIT Sloan Professor Emilio J. Castilla\u2019s new book, \\\"The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them\\\" can now be pre-ordered from the publisher, Columbia University Press.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mitsloan-php.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-faculty\/sites\/86\/2025\/06\/20170026\/Meritocracy-Paradox-against-Adobe-Background-e1750704225764.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mitsloan-php.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-faculty\/sites\/86\/2025\/06\/20170026\/Meritocracy-Paradox-against-Adobe-Background-e1750704225764.png\",\"width\":525,\"height\":525},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Castilla&#8217;s New Book &#8220;The Meritocracy Paradox&#8221; Available for Pre-order\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/\",\"name\":\"Emilio J. Castilla\",\"description\":\"MIT Personal Faculty\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/#\/schema\/person\/276b44b8dbb6bf46d3d1ad9f0cf3c0fe\",\"name\":\"mangelsd\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a2a4dd23fd9c9316e8ec9ed6bfd9666e9696ffa57f9fd1fda94ea1bd848e0ddb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a2a4dd23fd9c9316e8ec9ed6bfd9666e9696ffa57f9fd1fda94ea1bd848e0ddb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"mangelsd\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/author\/mangelsd\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Castilla's New Book \"The Meritocracy Paradox\" Available for Pre-order - Emilio J. Castilla","description":"MIT Sloan Professor Emilio J. Castilla\u2019s new book, \"The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them\" can now be pre-ordered from the publisher, Columbia University Press.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Castilla's New Book \"The Meritocracy Paradox\" Available for Pre-order","og_description":"MIT Sloan Professor Emilio J. Castilla\u2019s new book, \"The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them\" can now be pre-ordered from the publisher, Columbia University Press.","og_url":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/","og_site_name":"Emilio J. Castilla","article_published_time":"2025-06-20T20:51:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-23T18:57:41+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/86\/2025\/06\/Meritocracy-Paradox-against-Adobe-Background-e1750704225764.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"mangelsd","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"mangelsd","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/","url":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/","name":"Castilla's New Book \"The Meritocracy Paradox\" Available for Pre-order - Emilio J. Castilla","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/86\/2025\/06\/Meritocracy-Paradox-against-Adobe-Background-e1750704225764.png","datePublished":"2025-06-20T20:51:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-23T18:57:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/#\/schema\/person\/276b44b8dbb6bf46d3d1ad9f0cf3c0fe"},"description":"MIT Sloan Professor Emilio J. Castilla\u2019s new book, \"The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them\" can now be pre-ordered from the publisher, Columbia University Press.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mitsloan-php.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-faculty\/sites\/86\/2025\/06\/20170026\/Meritocracy-Paradox-against-Adobe-Background-e1750704225764.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mitsloan-php.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-faculty\/sites\/86\/2025\/06\/20170026\/Meritocracy-Paradox-against-Adobe-Background-e1750704225764.png","width":525,"height":525},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/2025\/06\/20\/castillas-new-book-the-meritocracy-paradox-available-for-pre-order\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Castilla&#8217;s New Book &#8220;The Meritocracy Paradox&#8221; Available for Pre-order"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/","name":"Emilio J. Castilla","description":"MIT Personal Faculty","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/#\/schema\/person\/276b44b8dbb6bf46d3d1ad9f0cf3c0fe","name":"mangelsd","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a2a4dd23fd9c9316e8ec9ed6bfd9666e9696ffa57f9fd1fda94ea1bd848e0ddb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a2a4dd23fd9c9316e8ec9ed6bfd9666e9696ffa57f9fd1fda94ea1bd848e0ddb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"mangelsd"},"url":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/author\/mangelsd\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/523"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354,"href":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315\/revisions\/354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/ecastill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}