Privilege for one person, by its very nature, comes at somebody else’s disadvantage, otherwise, it’s not a privilege.
When it comes to tackling the most critical diversity and inclusion (D&I) issues facing the legal profession, law firms and legal departments across the United States have enlisted some of the best-known and well-respected D&I consultants in the world. Unsurprisingly, these mandatory “check-the-box” trainings are frequently met with boilerplate hypotheticals, outdated language that describes certain minority groups, and participants who, quite frankly, would rather be working than forced to attend a presentation. Furthermore, sometimes the remedies offered to solve diversity challenges come with recommendations so carefully bubble-wrapped that the effort to address the problem is outweighed by the need to not offend the least vulnerable group in the workplace: the white male.
Remarkably, as the equity and inclusion movement is taking shape and form in a variety of professional settings, the legal profession is taking great pains to delicately dance around the very real existence of an equally impactful movement, commonly referred to as white male privilege. Countless studies and research on gender have occurred over the years that examine the advantages men gain over women, but it wasn’t until recent years that an increased focus on white male privilege commanded serious discussion.
Is White Male Privilege Really a Thing?
A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a female attorney who identifies as a person of color, who recalled a recent conversation she had with three white male colleagues at various law firms. She mentioned to them her long-term ambitions and the extraordinary steps she was taking to position herself for partnership. The conversation took a steep turn when the white male colleagues remarked that they just assumed they would automatically attain partnership, if that’s what they desired. She was astonished and bewildered by their display of confidence and entitlement due to the fact none of them had embarked on any business development activities or were staffed on any significant matters that set them apart from the other lawyers in their firm. One of the men even boasted about hanging out on the weekend at a partner’s home and yet another about a weekend trip to Miami with one of the partners.
While it would be truly praiseworthy if the female attorney could’ve pulled a comparable anecdote from her experiences at her firm, the harsh reality is that the opportunity for her to benefit from the same or similar experiences will rarely, if ever, happen. The harsh reality is that these extracurricular opportunities outside of the workplace, without any effort on the part of the junior lawyer, have the opportunity to position white males light-years ahead of their peers, without question.
Why Is This Happening?
This scenario should come as a surprise to no one, but it does because it forces people to confront their own successes and accept that, yes, maybe I have been given opportunities that have not been equally presented to my peers, and, maybe . . . it’s white privilege. Stony Brook University Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies, Michael S. Kimmel, has stated that, “privilege is invisible to those who have it.” He has argued that privilege manifests itself in many ways, from race and gender to wealth and educational attainment. It is true that sometimes people with privilege are often blindsided by those inherited advantages, but those groups of people who identify as anything other than white male are constantly reminded of the fact that their experiences are different.
In the book White-Washing Race: The Myth of a Color-Blind Society, the authors make the argument that white Americans cannot see how society produces advantages for them because the benefits seem so natural that they are taken for granted and experienced as wholly legitimate. Simply put, “the last thing a fish notices is the water.” Just as fish take the water they swim in for granted, white males sometimes take their normal opportunities for coaching, development, mentorship, and advancement for granted.