Bowfinger
Lifer
- Nov 17, 2002
- 15,776
- 392
- 126
QFRTOriginally posted by: Future Shock
If you believe that everyone has the same opportunity to become CEO, then I suggest you go work a few more years.
Statistically, men who are 6'2"+ make a lot more than men who are 5'8" - just because they are taller and command more respect in meetings and sales calls. This applies across fields and age groups. Statistically speaking, that 5'8" man will NEVER have the same opportunities as the 6'2" man - because he can't create the same overpowering impression during a sales call. Companies know this - for example, to get a job as a salesman for EMC (makes of large computing equipment), you pretty much are required to have a background as a college football player or hockey player, and be over 6'. Just for the physical presence. (BTW - I read that in an interview with their CEO a few years back, they don't even try to hide it).
Then there is the intelligence issue - some of us have it naturally, some of us don't. Can't avoid that, and again, it is hugely limiting of career choices and opportunities if you don't.
Lastly, family connections and money has a HUGE impact, even today. Bill Gates got superrich because his mom was on charity boards in Seattle with the wives of IBM executives - most people cannot get involved in these charities unless you come from a certain social group. Only very rich families can afford to send their children to Harvard, Yale, etc. - and affirmative action and academic scholarships only have a limited number of slots. If you want to get your child into the right PRE-SCHOOL in NYC they require interviews that basically ask for your economic details and social connections (of the parents) as a pre-requisite for getting your child in...and starting up the rich Mahattanite's ladder to success.
We simply DON'T all have the same opportunities, and to pretend otherwise is a lie. Doesn't mean that every year, a small percentage of people WILL migrate up the socioeconomic ladder, through dint of hard work, luck, or inheritance...but it is unfortunately a declining percentage.
Future Shock
(Quoted for REAL Truth, not the "Quoted for Truthiness" QFT sound-bite as used earlier.)