When I think about my own career and sharing what I've learned so far, I come back to one thought: How can I expect my own advice to resonate with others and help them when we all have a different starting line? What I'm referring to is social privilege.
Privilege refers to the idea that people gain social benefit from unearned (and generally unacknowledged) advantages. Today privilege is widely discussed, generally in terms of race. And while race is a huge facet of privilege, there are countless variables in the equation: Body type, socio-economic class, growing up in a 2-parent household, religious and ethnic background, education level of your parents, and more. All of these areas are what give us un-earned advantage, or disadvantage, starting from birth.
I hope my understanding of privilege and my place in the world will evolve as I continue learning, but here's what I think right now:
- Benefiting from privilege does not mean you don't work hard or face struggles in life. Instead, it means that the set of circumstances you were born into has affected your "starting line."
- Let me give an example: I spent a semester living in Medellín, Colombia. When I talk to my friends back in Colombia, they often ask me how I got my job at Microsoft. There's no doubt about it— getting a job at Microsoft was no easy feat. But I also have no doubt that my birth and upbringing in the US set my starting line a little bit closer to getting a job at Microsoft. The world HQ is in the US, the Microsoft recruiters came to my school every year during college, and I had weak ties I could use to start building a network with current Microsoft employees.
- I shouldn't let my own starting line, wherever it is, stop me from sharing what I've learned with others, but I should regularly take inventory of my own privilege. I want to lay out my starting line for both myself and those reading my advice.
- Privilege is the starting line, but there's still a lot of running to do beyond the starting line. That's where I'm hoping the advice in this blog will resonate.
- The definition of career success, or the "finish line", looks different for us all. Maybe we'll never feel satisfied with the finish lines we create for ourselves 🤷🏼♀️
- I won't ever have all the answers, but that shouldn't stop me from constantly seeking to learn and think critically about privilege. I should always try to use my own position to challenge inequality and lift up those who come after me.
Let's go back to #2: Taking inventory of my own privilege. Most of these privileges are ones I know have affected the starting line of my career specifically. They impact all areas of my life beyond just my career, but this isn't an exhaustive list. Let's dive in, shall we?
I'm white in the US.
Robin DiAngelo, along with many others, has written about this. She talks about her own upbringing as a white girl in the US saying:
“As I consider career choices I will have countless role models across a vast array of fields. When I apply for a job, virtually anyone in a position to hire me will share my race… With race as a nonissue, I can focus on my work and productivity and be seen as a team player. This is yet another example of the concept of whiteness as property discussed earlier: whiteness has psychological advantages that translate into material returns.”
I was born into an upper-middle-class family
This has afforded me opportunities like living in a highly rated school district, taking SAT prep classes, and participating in an internship class in high school.
Both of my parents and 3 of my grandparents went to college
My family expected me to go to college and helped me financially. They empathized with me as I went through college. In fact, most of them went to Purdue before I did. My degree now gives me access to jobs that smarter people without degrees have a harder time getting.
I'm a US citizen and my family has been in the US for many generations
I never have to worry about people viewing me as "other" before they view me as a student and a professional. English is my native language, and if I never wanted to learn another language, my career likely wouldn't suffer as a result.
I grew up in an affluent city
Growing up, I was surrounded by peers who were also going to college and adults who worked white-collar jobs. It wasn't hard for me to find others who looked like me accelerating in their careers and making more than enough money.
I could go on, but these are just a few examples of the privilege I see in my own life. Even though I've always known I'm privileged, I learned so much simply by going through the exercise of physically making a list. For anyone reading this, I encourage you to try the same.
The experience of understanding how you've gotten to where you are without doing anything to earn it is certainly humbling, but in no way takes away from the hard work you have put in to get where you are. If anything, it's a practice in reflection, gratitude, and humility— something we can all use a little more of ❤️