Movim • ‘It’s not your turn,’ the board's selection committee chair said. Instantly I felt as though I was back in the school yard

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‘It’s not your turn,’ the board's selection committee chair said. Instantly I felt as though I was back in the school yard | Julianne Schultz

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 6 December 2025

While the tension between meritocracy and ‘jobs for mates’ is always there, the best boards are more than the sum of their parts

Many years ago, I was encouraged to put my name forward to chair a significant government board. It seemed like a long shot to me, I wasn’t in anyone’s club, but my supporters were insistent. I agreed to let my name go into the mix.

It was a surprise then when the chair of the selection committee called a few weeks later and said with an apologetic tone: “Sorry Julianne, it’s just not your turn.”

Julianne Schultz is deputy chair of the Sydney writers’ festival board

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‘It’s not your turn,’ the board's selection committee chair said. Instantly I felt as though I was back in the school yard | Julianne Schultz

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 6 December 2025

While the tension between meritocracy and ‘jobs for mates’ is always there, the best boards are more than the sum of their parts

Many years ago, I was encouraged to put my name forward to chair a significant government board. It seemed like a long shot to me, I wasn’t in anyone’s club, but my supporters were insistent. I agreed to let my name go into the mix.

It was a surprise then when the chair of the selection committee called a few weeks later and said with an apologetic tone: “Sorry Julianne, it’s just not your turn.”

Julianne Schultz is deputy chair of the Sydney writers’ festival board

Th chevron_right

‘It’s not your turn,’ the board's selection committee chair said. Instantly I felt as though I was back in the school yard | Julianne Schultz

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 6 December 2025

While the tension between meritocracy and ‘jobs for mates’ is always there, the best boards are more than the sum of their parts

Many years ago, I was encouraged to put my name forward to chair a significant government board. It seemed like a long shot to me, I wasn’t in anyone’s club, but my supporters were insistent. I agreed to let my name go into the mix.

It was a surprise then when the chair of the selection committee called a few weeks later and said with an apologetic tone: “Sorry Julianne, it’s just not your turn.”

Julianne Schultz is deputy chair of the Sydney writers’ festival board