Organizational privilege check

This open source privilege checklist for organizations (or collectives, co-ops, communities …) is like that lucky child – and not the unlucky teenager – who has a whole village as parents. I tried to rebuild its history, starting from conversations taking place way before its publication on this etherpad, you can make your own here for free. The idea was to assign credit to us all, but in the end, as many parents do, I realized that our choice of leaving it free and alive out there in the world is the best legacy and recognition we could ask for. You can use it, share it, add something (please don’t delete), comment or get in touch if you have questions. These are excerpts.

[If you don’t know what privilege checks are, you can start with this video of a privilege check organized by a teacher for his students in an anonymous way, this is one that doesn’t provide anonymity. If participants’ express their consent – through an anonymous vote – it may be ok to organize a privilege check without assuring anonymity to the participants.]

***WARNING!!!*** 

– Individual privilege checks should be done anonymously because, for ex. you don’t want people to “come out” in front of others such as colleagues, bosses, teachers or classmates, or minorities to feel responsible to educate others about their experience with oppression, while already having to live and deal with oppression.You can decide how to handle anonymity in advance: like, deciding we’re never going to share our personal “scores”, or writing them down on a piece of paper and tossing it in a box that a facilitator will dig in it to then report to the group verbally or on a board.

Examples of privilege checklists in English

• Buzzfeed India privilege check (https://www.buzzfeed.com/soniathomas/how-privileged-are-you?bffbindia&utm_term=4ldqpgp#4ldqpgp)

(the context of reference in the examples below is Euro-American)

• Buzzfeed American privilege check (https://www.buzzfeed.com/regajha/how-privileged-are-you)

• Buzzfeed second attempt: “Invisible privileges”(https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephenlaconte/how-privileged-are-you-quiz?bfsource=bfocompareon) ex. My house is free of pests.         

• White privilege [pdf] (https://nationalseedproject.org/images/documents/Knapsack_plus_Notes-Peggy_McIntosh.pdf) ex. I was never discriminated because of my skin color         

• Cis-privilege (https://www.itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2011/11/list-of-cisgender-privileges/) ex. I am ok with the sex I was assigned at birth.         

• Heterosexual privilege (https://www.itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2012/01/29-examples-of-heterosexual-privilege/) ex. I can walk hand-in-hand with my partner.         

• Male privilege (https://www.itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2012/11/30-examples-of-male-privilege/) ex. I can dress how I want and not worry it will be used as a defense if I am raped.         

• Christian privilege (https://www.itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2012/05/list-of-examples-of-christian-privileg/) ex. I can expect to have time off work to celebrate my religious holidays.

[The organizational privilege check is divided in sections, here is one random yes/no question per section, and reflection prompts. The idea is that one organization, collective or community can use this tool internally as a self-assessment or discussion topic. Additionally, two organizations, collectives or communities that are familiar with this tool, will have a common language to discuss their structural advantages and disadvantages and become allies in fighting against them along their other collaborative activities.]

Structure and decision making

– We can rely on a good number of committed volunteers
  > an organization with fewer volunteering members may be use more resources to hire people and may be penalized in collaboration with an organization that has many and requires equal number or participants to function.

Legal

– We have the opportunity to register legally without negative consequences
 > an organization that has the chance to register legally may be unaware of the fact that this is not the case for all in a certain context and especially across different ones. The non-legally registered one may be barred from participating in institutionalized projects, grants and funding opportunities, awards and recognition.

Finance&Assets

– In our context there is a reliable infrastructure for electricity/plumbing/internet/heating&AC
 > an organization operating in a context with reliable infrastructure may not realize the additional logistical challenges that an organization who doesn’t have this privilege faces in participating, organizing or hosting a certain activity.

Political

– We work in a context where it is safe to talk about “peace”, “human rights”, “sex/gender/sexual orientation”
 > freedom of speech is taken for granted until its taken. Organizations that have to navigate authoritarian or otherwise oppressive contexts may be additionally discriminated in (or excluded by) collaborations taking for granted advertisement and reporting that could cost legal charges to their members.

Cultural

– In the context where we operate, most of the people can find the time to volunteer
 > labor rights and national educational curricula can significantly affect organizations’ staff and volunteers. If two organizations start a collaboration without having an honest conversation about working and schooling hours, working and schooling days, working and schooling holidays, their mutual viewpoint when discussing logistic can be inaccessible

Inclusion

– We have the time to discuss, understand, process and reflect on the topics mentioned in this list.
 > the opportunity structure of each organization shapes their daily activities, office dynamics, the content of lunch break conversations, the language of reference for those conversations …

Take a look at the rest of this tool 🙂