> Notice that if any other group is proportionately overrepresented in a population, it can still be "meritocratic".
false. a meritocratic system will very closely match the demographics of the population at large, because no given demographic is inherently better at a given task[1].
> It is only if there are too many white men, and only white men, that a group can no longer be considered meritocratic.
it's no coincidence that most un-meritocratic systems are overrun with white men-- white men are, historically, a priviledged group. so, of course, if a system values privilege over merit, one will see more white men. is that really that hard to understand?
[1] there are, of course, some small differences in average ability among different populations, but in most every case this is not the overriding factor leading to population imbalances in a given field.