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Matthieu Meeus
Data scientist bij McKinsey & Company in New York
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06 mei 2022
06:00
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In the United States, privilege too often comes down to success. When it comes to equality of opportunities, I’d rather be Belgian than American.
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San Francisco Bay, Boston and New York City. It is no secret that these places offer unique opportunities. You’ll find the world’s best universities, get a six-figure salary as a 22-year-old, and have access to venture capital for your wildest ideas. The United States rightly attracts global talent. Both in the auditorium and in the workplace you notice the diversity of ethnicity, gender and sexual preference.
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But the more and more I notice that this diversity on the socio-economic level is all too often hard to find. Although you hear success stories from all corners of society, it is striking that these are rare outliers. Privilege usually seems to be by far the biggest predictor of success. Maybe I was naive, but I expected a lot of students at Harvard with parents without college degrees, or at least a lot of students with scholarships. Because who can cough up more than $50,000 in tuition a year?
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Stories of expensive high schools where the chance of getting into a prestigious Ivy League university is 40 percent seem to be the norm. The median household income of a Harvard entry-level student is $168,000, nearly three times the national median. Because your university education often resonates here throughout your career, you notice a similar trend in prestigious work environments.
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For an American it is inconceivable that we as 18 year olds can start a university study for about 1,000 euros a year.
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Harvard is currently defending before the Supreme Court how the breed counts in the admission process for the benefit of ‘a diverse class’. If you claim so strongly to pursue diversity and shout its strength from the rooftops without actively considering the socio-economic background of students, I believe you are missing a fundamental aspect. Instead of focusing on gender and skin color, you should also make socio-economic diversity an objective for the influx of talent. Actively seek out the brightest people who are overflowing with ambition and may have to overcome obstacles, rather than giving preference to those who are constantly presented with opportunities.
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When the American dream becomes a disillusionment and privilege comes down to success, as a Belgian I look proudly in my own bosom. For an American it is inconceivable that we as 18 year olds can start a university study for about 1,000 euros a year. I only started realizing how great that possibility is outside of Belgium. I wouldn’t wish for any other environment to grow up in. Our country is ninth in the ranking of social mobility, the US is 27th.
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Ultimately, my point is nothing more than an observation. Assuming talent is equally distributed, I find that people from privileged backgrounds in the US are disproportionately represented in the very intellectual environments where diversity is so cherished. In my ideal world there is an equality of opportunities. Even if the American dream can keep its promises for the happy few, the cards of Jan in the cap generally seem a lot better than those of Joe Sixpack.
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The world is small
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