Q: Why Must Underrepresented Candidates Must Be Twice as Qualified to Compete? (A: The 2-Skill Tax on Meritocracy)
If this article speaks to you, you'll love my new book, The Equity Edge: How Addressing Bias in Recruiting and Retention Drives Success.
This piece is part of an ongoing series responding to the wave of DEI rollbacks and resistance. Each article offers thoughtful strategies to help you lead in ways that increase diversity and retention—without harm. Pre-order The Equity Edge now and receive The Equity Edge Instructor Guide FREE—a limited-time offer designed to help you bring these practices into your workplace with care, courage, and clarity.
For all the talk about meritocracy in hiring, there’s a reality that underrepresented candidates know all too well when interviewing: Having the skill to do the job isn’t enough. To succeed, they must master a second, unspoken skill—navigating hiring bias.
This is what we call the 2-Skill TAX on Meritocracy.
If hiring were truly based on merit, a candidate’s ability to perform the job would be the only thing that mattered. But in the real world, historically underrepresented professionals don’t just have to be qualified; they have to be overqualified, strategic, and adept at overcoming systemic bias just to get a fair shot.
The First Skill: Doing the Job Well
For everyone, the first skill required to get hired is straightforward: Can you do the job?
Do you have the technical ability?
Can you perform the responsibilities effectively?
Do you bring value to the company?
This is what hiring should be about. But for many professionals, especially those from historically excluded backgrounds, it doesn’t stop there. They have to master a second, unspoken skill just to be seen as equally capable.
The Second Skill: Navigating Bias in Hiring and Promotion
For historically underrepresented candidates, hiring isn’t just about proving competence; it’s about overcoming assumptions.
Take resume name bias. Research found that applicants with traditionally Black-sounding names receive 50% fewer callbacks than those with white-sounding names, even when their resumes are identical.
Or consider the vague and subjective “culture fit” test. Candidates are often rejected not for lack of skill or capability because they “don’t seem like a good fit”—a coded way of saying they don’t match the unspoken norms of White, male, or affluent corporate culture.
Then there’s the likability tax. Women and candidates of color must walk a tightrope—be assertive, but not “aggressive;” be competent, but not “intimidating.” Women who negotiate are often seen as “demanding” rather than ambitious, while Black professionals are more likely to receive vague, unhelpful feedback that stunts career growth.
And it doesn’t stop after getting hired.
The Promotion Gap: It’s one thing to get hired. It’s another to advance. And for many, that path is far from equal. Historically underrepresented professionals must constantly prove themselves over and over again just to advance at the same rate as their peers. A 2024 McKinsey study reveals a persistent gender gap in promotions, especially for women of color. For every 100 men promoted to manager, 81 women are promoted. But the numbers vary widely by race: 89 White women get promoted, while only 54 Black women and 65 Latinas make the cut. White men also out-earn Black and Hispanic men and all groups of women.
The Invisible Workload: Many professionals of color and women take on unpaid DEI labor, mentoring, or cultural translation work in addition to their job—without it contributing to their advancement.
This means that historically underrepresented candidates are not only competing for jobs based on skill; they are competing against bias itself. And that takes a second, entirely separate skillset.
The Burden of the 2-Skill Tax
Imagine two candidates:
Candidate A: Straightforward path. They apply, interview, and get the job based on demonstrated competence.
Candidate B: Equally skilled, but must also decode bias, downplay stereotypes, and continuously “prove” their qualifications just to be taken seriously.
The 2-Skill Tax means that historically underrepresented candidates must work harder just to stay in the game.
They take additional career coaching to navigate bias in hiring.
They rehearse answers to “cultural fit” questions to avoid coded rejections.
They learn how to neutralize bias before it happens, ensuring that they don’t trigger unconscious stereotypes that cost them opportunities.
If You Still Believe in Meritocracy, Ask Yourself This:
Why should some candidates have to be twice as qualified to land the same job?
Why do some professionals have to master both their field AND bias navigation just to get ahead?
How can we call it a meritocracy if the playing field demands different levels of effort from different groups?
If we truly want to hire the best talent, we must acknowledge the 2-Skill Tax and actively dismantle the biases that make it necessary.
What Companies Can Do Right Now
Use skills-based hiring: Evaluate people based on job-relevant competencies, not pedigree or “fit.”
Eliminate bias triggers: Remove names and demographic details from early hiring stages.
Standardize promotion criteria: Stop requiring historically underrepresented employees to “prove themselves” more than their peers.
Recognize the second skill: Acknowledge and reward the added expertise required to navigate bias—because it’s an unfair but real burden on members of marginalized communities.
Until we fix the system, historically underrepresented candidates will continue paying the 2-Skill Tax—working twice as hard, mastering two separate skillsets, and breaking down barriers that never should have existed in the first place.
So, if you’re still convinced that hiring is fair—explain why some people have to be twice as qualified to compete.
If you want to go deeper on how to build a workplace where top talent thrives, The Equity Edge lays out the exact steps to remove barriers for historically underrepresented employees, increase retention, and make equity a competitive advantage. Don’t forget to pre-order your copy here.