Not often I get to write about the Supreme Court, but here we go. With Justice Steven Breyer retiring this week, the choice of the next justice is in the news. President Biden had said while campaigning, and reiterated last week, that he plans to nominate a black woman for the position. As everything in politics does, it is raising lots of debate.
The question I want to address: Does this meet the definition of fair?
I believe it does. Remember, fair isn't equal. It doesn't have to mean that everyone gets treated the exact same way. We make decisions based on the individual and the situation. In this case, the court has never opened the door to a black woman (even though there are undoubtedly qualified candidates) and breaking that barrier is important.
Some say it should go to the most qualified person. I can't disagree - however it assumes something I don't think is true: that there is one person more qualified than all the rest. In most cases, there are plenty of qualified candidates and deciding between them would be difficult if not impossible. Anyone who has hired can tell you there are times where the best candidate jumps out at you, and there are other times where two or more candidates are equally as good and making a decision on who would be best is impossible. Assuming that whoever is nominated is qualified (which I don't doubt), then that should be enough.
In addition, we talk about diversity all the time - race, gender, social economic, etc. Many times, managers make decisions to try and get more diversity. Which means if there are multiple qualified candidates, making a more diverse team may be the benefit that lifts one candidate over another. I never made it a point to hire someone specific, but I sure took it into consideration to help make a more diverse and better company.
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