Privilege

Privilege can be described as an unearned advantage, something that is limited to certain groups. According to Allan Johnson, “Privilege exists when one group of people has something of value that is denied to others simply because of a group they belong to”. There is a wide variety of things that can be considered a privilege; one example is that white males generally have the advantage when being considered for promotions in the workplace. African American males or women generally are over looked when working along side a white male with similar potential.  Right away a white male may have the opportunity to prove himself or will be given more responsibility then others. Along with getting more praise for success a white male is also more likely to be given second and third chances when he fails, a woman or black male is more likely to be punished right away for their failures. White males are given more grace while others are held to a much higher standard. When white males do fail it is much more likely they will be allowed to treat failure as a learning experience, and their failure will not be associated with the fact that they are white. Failure for an employee that is black will probably be associated with his or her ethnic group. Unearned advantages like these are very common at work and this is a direct example of privilege.