'The Most Influential People in Business in 2011'
On January 1, 2012 the Pittsburgh Post Gazette ran an article entitled 'The Most Influential People in Business in 2011. The article enumerated a list of the 'movers and shakers' in the city, presented in random order. The article said, 'it speaks to our homogeneous nature, there are some surprises and people who are sure to continue to impact the region in 2012 and beyond'.
What comes as no real surprise, yet a heartbreaking disappointment, is the fact that all of the notables are white males, from the Governor of Pennsylvania, and on down the list of businessmen and CEO's of corporations such as UMPC, PNC Financial, and Saks Fifth Avenue. This clearly demonstrates the notion of white privilege and male privilege, as discussed in the article of the same name by Peggy McIntosh, found in our text. Ms McIntosh succinctly states, 'I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege". Though they may espouse otherwise, it seems to me that most white men are in denial of this unbalanced and unfair situation. I believe they wear blinders on purpose, that deep down they feel threatened by women. This is not a positive statement about the City of Pittsburgh and this whole notion makes me feel very angry, ashamed and frustrated.
What comes as no real surprise, yet a heartbreaking disappointment, is the fact that all of the notables are white males, from the Governor of Pennsylvania, and on down the list of businessmen and CEO's of corporations such as UMPC, PNC Financial, and Saks Fifth Avenue. This clearly demonstrates the notion of white privilege and male privilege, as discussed in the article of the same name by Peggy McIntosh, found in our text. Ms McIntosh succinctly states, 'I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege". Though they may espouse otherwise, it seems to me that most white men are in denial of this unbalanced and unfair situation. I believe they wear blinders on purpose, that deep down they feel threatened by women. This is not a positive statement about the City of Pittsburgh and this whole notion makes me feel very angry, ashamed and frustrated.
This is a good example of white and male privilege. It is interesting that the writer of the newspaper article admitted that it "speaks to our homogeneous nature," although I'm not sure what "nature" he/she is referring to. The nature of business? The people who tend to get promoted in business?
ReplyDeleteThe notion of privilege is one that angers me deeply. It is easy to get bogged down in shame and frustration, but the important thing is to think about how we can change things for the future.