Nepotism refers to the unfair favoritism shown towards relatives or personal friends

by those in power, against co-workers or the deserving candidates. The unfair

privileges are given due to the relationships of closeness rather than their abilities. It
is derived from an Italian word, nepotism that is again derived from a Latin word
Nepos that means nephew.

The term nepotism originated when catholic popes and bishops started assigning
their nephews to cardinal positions back in the 14 th century. This was because the
popes and bishops had taken vows of chastity and had no offspring. So, they gave
their opportunities to their nephews. Although then it was done within the field
of religion, it can occur in various other fields like politics, business, music, acting,
entertainment, organizations, etc.

In political nepotism, a powerful political figure provided similar power which he/she
holds to his/her relative or any close acquaintance. For example, suppose a
politician nominates three of his sons for an election without them having any early
political knowledge. It is a very common occurrence in politics in the contemporary
period as members of the ruling party often let their relatives ascend to similar power
as theirs.

In organizational nepotism, a person can be given a job in an organization not

because he has all the qualifications necessary for the job but because they have
familial ties or recommendations which get them the job they want. Even in the line
of entertainment, people having connections with the personalities belonging to
cinema, radio, television, or art, can achieve easily the posts which commoners
cannot even think of getting without going through various auditions, competitions,
and so on. This practice is unethical as it obstructs the talented skilled people from
occupying those positions.

There are laws that prohibit discrimination in workplaces based on race, ethnicity,
caste, class, etc. Since nepotism leads to discriminating deserving candidates for
preferring close relatives, such laws can be applied to prohibit this practice as well.
The employees who have become the victims of such discrimination must be able to
show that the employer was discriminatory based on any of the above-mentioned
categories. Many workplaces even have policies to prevent nepotism.

Another concept called ethnic nepotism is central to sociology which states about the
human tendency for in group bias or favoritism deriving from nepotism. This is mostly
seen within a multi ethnic society towards people of the same ethnicity. This term
emerged in the 1960s in the backdrop of ethnic tensions arising in the then Sub-
Saharan Africa such as Nigeria which had become independent recently. Nepotism
is a very sensitive issue that has become the subject of controversies and debates.
While on one hand, people argue that they have every right to use their resources for
the benefit of their offspring and relatives, on the other hand, others oppose it
viewing that we being a part of a non-discriminatory free country should get equal
opportunities without being subject to biasness.