I couldn't care less about the warm words in that pledge. I'm fearful of the mindset of the person that wrote it.
We all fancy the "meritocracy" mindset, but we can't just ignore that there are very, very important factors at play (your gender, the color of your skin, your upbringing, the wealth of your family, the social standing of your family..) that determine a persons success regardless of their conduct, determination or other internal factors.
If an employer is dumb enough to not hire a great worker because of their gender or skin color, then that business is doomed in the long run anyways. Because somewhere out there is a competitor who will snatch up that talented person and crush them.
Capitalism is a brutal business, but it does have a way of sorting these things out.
We all fancy the "meritocracy" mindset, but we can't just ignore that there are very, very important factors at play (your gender, the color of your skin, your upbringing, the wealth of your family, the social standing of your family..) that determine a persons success regardless of their conduct, determination or other internal factors.