White Privilege & Power Dynamics

Overconsumption of resources by white and/or privileged communities and developed countries has contributed a disproportionate amount of pollution and CO2 into our atmosphere. At the same time systemic inequities have led historically/intentionally marginalized communities and developing countries to experience a disproportionate amount of the damage caused by this pollution and climate change.

I worked as an organizational coach on energy efficiency programs for large industrial plants. These programs were focused on utilizing behavior change to use existing equipment and systems more efficiently (e.g. influencing the culture to switch off heavy equipment during lunchtime leading to savings over a year that equate to the same amount of energy a single family home in the US uses). I became aware of how the three to ten people “energy teams” at participating organizations mostly consisted of highly educated white men, while the people using the manufacturing equipment were often represented by Latinx, SE Asian, and Eastern European people. The importance of diverse representation on their “energy teams” was key to engaging with the broader demographics represented within the organization. However, even when they did create more diverse energy teams, the reality of power dynamics within our culture at large would still hinder true collaboration and hence leave a lot of energy savings on the table.

Psychological safety is at the heart of any successful team/human endeavor. And the most holistic lens through which to approach psychological safety is one rooted in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI); meaning those of us with privilege (i.e. most white folk) need to do the inner work needed to recognize our privilege so that we can authentically show up, create true psychological safety for historically marginalized people, bring about social and climate justice, and become part of the solution.