The Ignorant Investor

I sometimes hear people say that such and such industry or company is egalitarian because it has a woman or black guy in a high ranking slot. There's usually some kind of extraordinary history associated with the person's rise at the company. Top honors at an Ivy League school, an industrious childhood, parents who stressed the importance of education or excellence.

But we should measure equality by looking at the extraordinary, since being extraordinary is so rarely a requirement for leadership in our business culture. Instead, we should look at the level of incompetent or mediocre executives in an organization. Are there as many black mediocrities as white? Are there enough incompetent women?