2020 has been a year in which our understanding of privilege and what it means has been opened up for discussion in ways it never has before. The BlackLivesMatter movement, mass redundancies and job losses, so many falling through the gaps of financial support, the impact of COVID on the most clinically vulnerable, those living alone isolated, those grieving the loss of loved ones without being able to say proper goodbyes, and all of us cut off from so much of what we take for granted, the relentless stress of dealing with the pace of change in regulations, the low paid key workers whose roles are so necessary to keep the wheels of daily life going in a pandemic, are just some of the ways in which the circumstances of 2020 has forced so many of us to adapt, learn and find our way through challenging times like never before.
Yet so many of us live our daily lives in a position of privilege we take for granted. I’ve thought a great deal over recent months about how and whether to join the BlackLivesMatter debate, because racism, especially towards black males, isn’t a subject I feel I can authentically talk about as, put simply, I’m neither black nor am I a male. But as the year has progressed, and as I have sought to educate myself more, I’ve realised that I can still make a difference in talking about it, and calling out racism and discrimination of all sorts when I see it, even if I’m not able to fully understand how it feels to experience it first hand. I don’t want to in any way diminish the discrimination and challenges faced by so many who are in one or more ways underprivileged compared to myself, but I do want to shine some light on the matter as we come to the end of 2020 and reflect on what an ‘unprecedented’ year it has been.
I recently came across the image above, the ‘Wheel of Power/Privilege’, and feel it represents brilliantly how many ways in which privilege or indeed being underprivileged impacts our position in society and the opportunities provided to us or barriers created. So many of us take for granted the privilege we have and perhaps do not even see it as such; I certainly know that when I look at this image I can personally see many ways in which my own life has been and continues to be privileged, and so I want to use this power for positive influence and effect for those who have less power to do so.
In my day job as an HR Consultant, I am trained to spot and flag up potential discrimination in its many forms, and to educate others on what Equality really means; that it is more in fact about equitable outcomes and inclusion. And I often have discussions with clients about ensuring discrimination doesn’t play a part in employment decisions, but inevitably it does, quite often unconsciously or in subtle ways. I challenge discrimination when I see it, but that’s because I deal with employment law where discrimination has financial consequences to our clients, so to them, it’s business advice and all about avoiding a potentially costly claim.
The most common examples of workplace discrimination or victimisation are in fact in the course of day-to-day work, usually in the form of employee interactions, and it’s often about the language used or the way someone feels they are treated by colleagues or managers. If grievances are formally raised, then employers inevitably want to avoid a potential legal claim, so its often played down as making a fuss over nothing, an isolated incident, a misunderstanding, or explained away as banter, rather than acknowledging or tackling the inherent issue. More often than not though this is just the tip of the iceberg, and I find when other employees who arguably shouldn’t be offended in fact are, then the grievances are listened to. For many employees, it takes great courage to raise a grievance, often for fear of forevermore being seen as a troublemaker, and so having those allies is key to their voice being heard. And having employers acknowledge that the banter can’t continue and language needs to change.
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.
Desmond Tutu
As a Mental Health First Aid Instructor, we also regularly refer to the need to understand your own ‘frame of reference’, and to appreciate how it will differ from the person next to you. Our social status, experiences and circumstances, all play a huge part in how the world sees us and how we see the world and those around us. And it can have such a significant impact on our wellbeing and both our physical and mental health. Those from ethnic minority backgrounds, from the LGBTQ+ community, and those with disabilities or neurodiversity, for example, are statistically more likely to experience poor mental health, and if they have a combination of those attributes then even more likely to experience a diagnosed mental health condition.
There is still a long way to go for us to understand and appreciate how we make others feel, how when we are coming from a position of privilege, in whatever aspect of our lives that may be, that others are not experiencing the same events in the same way. If COVID 19 and the year that has been 2020 has taught us anything it is to be more kind and to value what so many of us often take for granted, and use that knowledge and power as a force for positive change and progress.
What have you recognised this year to be a privilege you have over so many others? How has this changed how you perceive yourself and those around you? What are you now doing differently as a result of what you have learnt about yourself and others?
