Leading Libraries Series: Leading for Inclusion
The Leading for Inclusion set consists of the following modules:
You are in the Power and privilege module
Power and privilege
The big idea: power and privilege
The more privilege you have, the more opportunity you have. The more opportunity you have, the more responsibility you have.
Source: Noam Chomsky
Understanding privilege
Privilege is societal advantage afforded to people from certain groups. These people benefit from how society is structured and behaves, while other people lose out or have to work harder to access similar opportunities. This doesn’t not mean
that if you have a certain kind of privilege that you have never struggled, it means that many social and organisational systems in your environment have a built-in advantage for people like you.
Privilege is often invisible and those who have it may not realise they are at an advantage in comparison to others. The more privilege you hold, the greater power you have in society and the workplace because things are designed to make life
easier for you, and your way of living and working determines ‘how things are done around here’.
Inclusive leaders recognise the nature and impact of their own identity, and the power and privilege it gives them in society and the workplace. Inclusive leaders take time and care to better understand the experiences of the people they lead,
and how power and privilege is distributed within the organisation. With this understanding they work to address imbalances in order to create a level playing field for all.
Considering your own power to make a difference
As a leader, it is important to explore and understand your own privilege as you can then realise the power you hold in society and the workplace, and become aware of how these issues affect others. From this position, you are better placed
to make decisions and build relationships that help to shift power imbalances in organisational systems and structures.
In this module, you will gain an understanding of how power and privilege affect inclusion in society and in our organisations. In terms of your own ability to 'lead for inclusion', you will then:
- consider your own levels of privilege and how they affect you
- become more aware of the forms of power that you have to effect change - both personally and in your role
- reflect on how you might use your own power and privilege to create a more inclusive environment for others.
Thinking about and challenging privilege is an on-going process, and one that can be difficult concept to grapple with. Recognising your own privilege can cause feelings of guilt and shame, and these feelings can mean that people avoid such
conversations or even deny that privilege exists. As you work through this module, take care to recognise how you feel in response to what you read, hear and see and give yourself the self-care you need in order to deepen your learning
in this area.
Continue to: Understanding power and privilege
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