The power of privilege

In the past few weeks, we have spoken and heard numerous stories of people seeking help. We have also reflected on what help means to us and how we would seek it. In all this introspection, one thing is clear: desperate times drive people to seek help whether they like it or not. Yet, for some people, it is easier to access help than it is for others. We may not see it right away because barriers to seeking help are invisible, and for the most part, systemic. This means that our own experiences in seeking help could be vastly different from others and provide little insight into the systems we’re designing. In an unequal society like ours, how might we design systems that consider the needs of not just a few but of everyone?

But who does everyone include? As designers, we assume that by listening and designing for the majority, we are creating inclusive systems. We proudly show our findings from surveys indicating that a large majority of our audiences desire this or believe that. However, this data withholds the humanity and stories of the people who are excluded.

There are several conversations we are confronted with as designers: this is the one of privilege. It is imperative to have these conversations because it helps us recognise our own power and privilege, recognise the systems that inadvertently propagate exclusion and perhaps help mitigate the effects of such design systems, thereby creating more inclusive design systems that truly benefit all.

Recognising Privilege

A privilege is a certain type of advantage that a person or a group of people may benefit from. It is a part of our identity that we often forget about. In some cases, we may even deny or get defensive about it. But, whether we acknowledge it or not, it makes it easier for us to navigate the world.

In an article in the Harvard Business Review, Dolly Chugh iterates,

“Each of us has some parts of our identity which requires little attention to protecting oneself from danger, discrimination, or doltish humour. For example, if you are white or Christian or able-bodied or straight or English-speaking, these particular identities are easy to forget. It is just an ordinary way of being. Ordinary privilege is ordinary because it blends in with the norms and people around us, and thus, is easily forgotten.” (2018)

Reading this made me think about the parts of my life to which I don’t pay much attention. It’s difficult to think about this because you assume that it is a way of life and that it is the same way for others. Listening to people’s experiences, however, can help shed some light on your own ordinary privilege. While sharing travel stories with teammates, one spoke about the trouble he has with air travel due to his religion and that he often has to take longer layovers due to unending checks at the airports. It made me think about how this isn’t something I had considered at all. In times when we fail to see how the system may be broken for a few, we become blind to their problems. This is called advantage blindness. “According to the work done by Fuchs, Reichs and Higgins, “When you have advantage blindness, you don’t feel privileged. You don’t notice a life of special treatment; it’s just normal.” (2018)

This blindness could also change the narrative in our head. When speaking about the pandemic, we often think that it was a great unifier. Everyone was inconvenienced and affected. However, we fail to see the degree of inconvenience faced by some vs others. Listening to some changemaker families however made it clear that the pandemic has only widened the gap, but also brought to light the stark difference in the ‘pandemic experience’ of people.

The Origin of Biases

When starting the design process, we are often packed with biases. This project was no different, however, it was interesting to note that these biases were not all the same across the class. When we hosted a workshop on what good help could look like for popular characters from our childhood storybooks, the answers indicated that everyone’s perception of what is good, is different. This could be based on cultural differences and the privileges that come with it. Privilege is largely inherent because we are born with it, for example, race, gender, citizenship, ability, sexuality etc. There might also be others like education and income, which we might be able to alter in the course of our life, but we have a headstart in.

There seems to be a correlation between biases and privilege. We assume that our experiences must largely be the experiences of the world around us. Even though as designers we are taught to be mindful of them, they creep in inconspicuous ways. Usually, these biases can be kept at bay by speaking to the users and by reviewing unique perspectives, but who we choose to speak to may also be a decision made by our biases.

Recognising our privilege at an individual level will give us insights into the biases we come with and help us be better, inclusive designers.

Privilege and Power

We often talk about the power of design but overlook the power that we have as designers. As designers, we have the power to include or exclude people from the narrative. This may not be intentional, but biases and advantage blindness can make certain groups of people invisible to us.

We live in an unequal society and while we are all aware of that, we often fail to see how we perpetuate inequality. I consider myself a person of privilege, but simply recognising this privilege doesn’t help bridge the inequalities. We need to take it a step further and contemplate ways in which we can equalize power. In our personal lives, this could be done by checking your ordinary privilege and by actively seeking the company of others. As designers, by reflecting on ‘who faces the greatest degree of exclusion’ and by actively trying to design for the ‘extreme users’, we may be able to challenge the status quo into building a more equal world. Uncle Ben in the original Spider-man movie, puts it beautifully — “With great power comes great responsibility” and so it becomes our responsibility, as designers, to design solutions for a more equitable society.

A Force for Good?

It’s never easy to talk about our own privilege and it’s not our fault entirely. This conversation can be touchy for both — people with and without it. Often people may find themselves swaying from feelings of extreme gratitude to guilt. However, instigating open dialogues about privilege can also create opportunities that enable us to use privilege for the overall good.

At an individual level, it can help us be better allies and amplify the voices of the unheard.

According to Atcheson,

“Understanding and recognizing privilege can be a daunting and uncomfortable task. Having uncomfortable conversations with yourself, understanding the systematic and societal issues which may have played in your favour is eye-opening and allows you to use this privilege to amplify those who do not have it.” (2018)

Everyone has an opportunity to be an ally to someone. By doing so, we leverage the power of the community and its members to support each other and help bridge the gap between the inequalities. Powerful movements like Black Lives Matter and the Pride movement have shown us that when people of all races or sexualities stand up for one another, then the voices of the unheard cannot be ignored. In our recommendation for this unit, we talk of a world where people can help empower other people whose voices aren’t as loud. This could lead to a seismic shift in how some communities become more resilient.

At a systemic level, designers, lawmakers, engineers aka the people in power have the responsibility of designing systems that are truly inclusive and cater to all. We must be mindful of the lens through which we are looking at the world and focus on how we are different and not just on how we are the same. Getting various perspectives and viewpoints is the only way to broaden our understanding of the world. I feel grateful to be a designer in a world that allows us to question this legacy and where I have the opportunity to reverse some systemic issues to truly build a better world for everyone.

Bibliography

Atcheson, S. (2018) ‘Allyship — The Key To Unlocking the Power Of Diversity’, Forbes, Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/shereeatcheson/2018/11/30/allyship-the-key-to-unlocking-the-power-of-diversity/?sh=269cc95f49c6 (Accessed:23rd March 2021)

Chugh, D. (2018) ‘Use Your Everyday Privilege to Help Others’, Harvard Business Review,. Available at: https://hbr.org/2018/09/use-your-everyday-privilege-to-help-others (Accessed: 20th March 2021).

Ebbitt K. (2015) ‘Why it’s Important to Think about Privilege — and Why It’s Hard’, Global Citizen,. Available at: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/why-its-important-to-think-about-privilege-and-why/ (Accessed: 20th March 2021)

Fuchs, B., Reitz, M., Higgins,J. (2018) ‘Do You have “Advantage Blindness”?, Harvard Business Review,. Available at: https://hbr.org/2018/04/do-you-have-advantage-blindness (Accessed: 23rd March 2021)