> First, I don't get why diversity is given passing mention when there's nothing related specific to diversity or gender politics in the solid idea discussed b

> First, I don't get why diversity is given passing mention when there's nothing related specific to diversity or gender politics in the solid idea discussed by the article. If you can get promoted for many things in multiple ways, that means diverse promotion system, which means you'll get more diverse seniors and more diverse leadership. If your goal is to have a wide range of skilled people from various backgrounds in senior places, relaxing rules around promotions is definitely a way to get closer to that goal. If you have a strict promotion criteria, you might end up promoting very similar people. An extreme example: Only people from Ivy League schools can get to senior and above. Consequence: you'll end up with very heterogeneous leadership 5-10 years of such a policy (most likely even leadership that formed friendships while in university).