My ex is a black lesbian and management at Goldman Sachs.
She was one of only a few women at her level in her office/location.
She was one of only a few black people at her level in her office/location.
She was one of only a very few LGB people at her level in her office/location.
If it's so easy for black LGB women to get in, why were there so very few?
It was white, middle class men almost exclusively, who had been to a certain brand of prestigious university. As in, 90%+. Obviously it will have changed somewhat since then, but still.
Being
- black
- female
- gay
made it more difficult. Her words, not mine. She felt out of place constantly. Yet what she went on to achieve was remarkable. She did this by gaining skills that few other people had.
It needs to be a LEVEL playing field, not favouring any applicants.
How you achieve this when people come from different areas, different schools with vastly different averages and results, I don't know.
The white working class boy from a school where most people get two GCSEs and leave at there?
The Asian girl who goes to an elite school, has private tutoring and the average is 8 A*s and 2 As for GCSE results?
How do you compare the two?
The boy achieving 10 As may be more of a relative achievement than the girl achieving 10 A*s.
He may be more intelligent yet has received worse quality teaching, more disruption, crime, less opportunity, more distractions, no tutoring, no preparation for the exams. Maybe he's a carer for someone in his family.
There's no formula to compare the two. But one A* does not = one A* there. That's for absolute sure.