Privilege as Power
For many ‘privilege’ has become just another buzzword that they hear amongst a slew of other business and D&I jargon. But what does it actually mean? Privilege is essentially the special advantage a person or group has due to their characteristics or life experiences, that aren’t widely available to other groups.
We are all privileged in some capacity, it’s just some privileges are far more impactful on our lives than others, particularly when it comes to job opportunities. Having a shorter commute than a colleague is a privilege for example, but if that colleague is the child of the CEO, they will still be in a more privileged position than you. It’s for that reason that D&I policies tend to target this more impactful range of privileges.
So, what are some of the most common impactful privileges?
It is privileged to;
Not have to face discrimination based on your race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion or disability etc.
Not have to worry about ‘fitting in’ in the office but rather immediately being able to find common ground with co-workers based on shared history, being an alum of the same institution or having the same hobbies.
Have connections, role models and a network to help you land jobs and career opportunities.
Be able to be supported financially by family members whilst you take unpaid internship opportunities.
Recognising Your Privilege
It can be hard to see how privilege may have affected your life or career – after all, most privileges are life-long so it is hard to imagine your life without them. It is often not a simple process where a switch is flipped, some work will have to be put in.
Perspective taking exercises are often used to bring awareness to privileges. These exercises encourage participants to consider life from the point of view of one of their colleagues, considering how their experiences or characteristics have impacted their lives so far. Simply put, it’s walking a mile in their shoes for a moment. We here at Avenir have found perspective taking exercises to be very effective, and we use them as part of our ‘Privilege, Bias or Merit?’ and Inclusive Leadership programmes that helps leaders identify privilege, and other kinds of biases, to facilitate a more effective and equitable organisation.
On an individual basis, reaching out and having dialogue with people different to yourself is a good way of gaining more perspective on how different people’s lived experiences are. Volunteering for organisations that work with disadvantaged people to help them gain employment and professional skills can be a rewarding way to do this. Alternatively, you can offer to mentor someone with different diversity characteristics to you and listen to their experiences, whilst helping them progress their career.
I can’t do anything about my privilege
We often hear this pushback – the privilege each of us has is generally not something we have control over. Most privileges are inherent, part of the family you were born into or the environment in which you were raised. The ask, therefore, isn’t for you to feel guilty or ashamed of having more than someone else. It is about reflecting and raising your awareness of the privileges you have, how they have shaped your life and career, and how others may not have the same privileges.
I recently spoke to Charlotte Cox and Caroline Nankinga as part of Episode 14 of my ‘Why Care?’ podcast. In the episode Charlotte mentions how she recognises the privileges that have led her to becoming successful in her career, but she views her privilege as power – a power she can use to help others who are less privileged to help level the playing field.
There are many ways you can use your privilege to combat inequity for others. It can be as simple as encouraging colleagues or clients to listen to someone who is often spoken-over in meetings, bringing attention to colleagues who are overlooked for opportunities and projects and highlighting when colleagues are unfairly burdened with tasks like note-taking and minutes.
You can also undertake some larger actions to level the playing field, including:
mentoring junior colleagues who have less privilege
hosting networking events to help these employees build connections within the company and the wider industry.
introducing employees to potential connections directly whether in person, via email or on platforms like LinkedIn.
One of the biggest privileges in the world of business is who you know, and people who attended private schools, interned at big corporations from an early age and have family friends in the industry have a big leg up in this regard. Helping junior colleagues build a network can go a long way with combating the effects of privilege.
How can Avenir help?
Privilege is contextual to both organisations and individuals, so accounting for privilege in organisational policy is just as contextual. We at Avenir are experts in helping you decipher the context and analyse how privilege is manifesting in your organisation. We offer clients our Complete Inclusion Diagnostic to measure inclusion and provide the starting point for leadership and cultural change.
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