From the course: How to Be More Inclusive

What is privilege?

From the course: How to Be More Inclusive

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What is privilege?

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- Most of you watching this video have some level of privilege. For starters, you have access to the internet and electronic device whether it's a computer or mobile device, the time to spend watching this video, whether it's a work requirement or you've sought it out on your own, an access to an e-learning platform. Those in themselves are just a few examples of privilege. And guess what? That's okay. In this lesson, you'll learn what privilege actually is and be able to start identifying other types of privilege you may have. Feeling guilty about having privilege isn't going to change anything or make the lives of those with less privileged have access to more resources. What I want you to focus on is helping you understand your privilege better, and how you can utilize it to be an ally to others. You may find yourself reacting defensively to being told you have privilege, but this isn't about pointing fingers or playing the blame game. It's about creating self-awareness to give you a better understanding of why things are not equal at work and honing in on what you can do to address that. You can understand privilege as rights or advantages that select people have access to, solely based on their social group membership. Let's take me for an example, as a white, straight, cisgendered, able-bodied middle-class woman, I am the epitome of privilege. Yes, there are roadblocks for me as a woman. I'm not saying that you're either privileged or not, privileged doesn't mean that my life is easy or I don't work hard. It just means that I don't face the same obstacles as others and life is that much more difficult for those who don't have the same privilege as I do. Take a moment now to pause the video and check out one of my favorite tools when discussing privilege. The list of 50 potential privileges at work. It's available at betterallies.com at the URL on the screen. Then count up how many you've identified with. Meet me back here when you're ready. That is a really long list, right? There's probably a number of things on the list you never considered to be a privilege or put much thought into it all. For me, I identified with 31 out of the 50 privileges. That's a significant amount of privilege. These are things I don't ever have to think about when I'm interacting on my team, in a meeting or in the hallways. By understanding my privilege, I've been able to avoid a lot of difficult moments others experience. I don't have to worry about someone mistaking me for a member of the catering staff at an event or making a snide remark about my accent. Instead, I can use those moments as a chance to be an ally for others and make them feel like they belong in the conference room and call out the person who's making those rude, also known as micro aggressive remarks about them. Privilege gives us opportunities to be active allies to those with less access and take responsibility for making changes that will help others be successful, thus creating a more inclusive workplace where everyone thrives. Spend some time reviewing the list of potential privileges during this week. Think about situations where those privileges have benefited you. And be honest with yourself. Use this list to engage in a dialogue with your team, friends and family about how privilege has shown up in their lives. Then make a plan for how you can use that privilege to be an active ally for others. Being honest and thoughtful about privilege is an important first step in playing your part to creating an inclusive workplace.

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