I'm defining "merit" as the ability to get the job done and make the company money. For example, I'm trying to hire a data scientist/data oriented generalist. K

I'm defining "merit" as the ability to get the job done and make the company money. For example, I'm trying to hire a data scientist/data oriented generalist. Knowledge of statistics and aptitude for learning contributes to merit, as does the ability to write scalable and deployable code. Sex appeal does not contribute to merit, nor does being a nerdy-but-attractive hipster. Does that clarify? Note that Sago's definition, "probabilistic causes of non-equal representation", quite deliberately doesn't unpack anything. All it does is apply the label "privilege" to the cause, whether that cause is explicit deliberate racism (to take one extreme) or completely biological factors with entirely unbiased decisions (to take another).