Privilege Walk!

A few days back, I attended an office event in a very serene golf course - (nothing to do with my profession, mind you), just a middle-of-the-country convenient location for all employees. One of the agenda for the day was 'Privilege Walk. When the sun is shining in winter (in the UK), the prospect of a short walk in the sun is like mirages in the desert. I was delighted and looked forward to it. As the day unfolded, I realized this walk in fact a virtual question-and-answer session. To my dismay, it was not a walk outside in the sun.

'Privilege Walk' is a method used often to understand the general demographics of a group/company. It helps to identify various gaps and make people aware of the difference. It also encourages to help those who might be less privileged. It's usually a series of questions about yourself, background and other details with yes & no types options, not very detailed. I was sceptical about sharing too many personal details, but the instructor assured me it was just multiple choice questions(MCQs) that eased me.

The first few questions were easy for me. Something like, did you study and gain a graduate degree? Did your parents have to take up multiple jobs to raise you? Did you have access to healthy food while growing up, etc.? I felt privileged to have had all of these without much hassle. The next set of questions was about opportunities, nationality, and environment specific to British culture. Here, I didn't qualify for half the questions. Like, do you speak English at home? Or do you get holidays on your festivals etc. so I ignored them. The next set was related to work, opportunities to learn and grow at the workplace, etc. Again, I couldn't answer many as I didn't start work in the UK. When the results came, I barely scored above average. I saw many in the conference exchanging surprised looks at their results. A few had a good laugh.

In the end, when the instructor showed the graph of cumulative scores, we realized many of us sat close to the average line. I derived that many of us were partly privileged owing to the very UK-specific questions. The instructor helped us to understand and appreciate our differences and how we should be sensitive to others' feelings and needs at work. How do culture, past and present situations, and respect for everyone, irrespective of position, play an important role at work? It was one of the learning that we seldom pay attention.

For the first time, I realized what it means to be not so privileged. I lumped in my throat. I thought about people's limited access to things that I take for granted. Even though I was aware that many of the questions were not relevant to me, I felt terrible to accept that I was partly or average privileged, if that is a term. Before the activity started, I had a fair degree of self-awareness, but now I was pondering. I was sitting in a posh conference room in one of the country's reputed golf courses, juggling with the thoughts of my privileges so far. I needed a walk outside.

During lunch break, I braved the cold to go out for a walk on the golf course. The warm winter sun, vast green spaces, and silence helped me reassure that I was privileged. I asked myself, how many people could go on a walk on a golf course during a work day if not related to their golf profession? The optimistic person in me imagined if I were to substitute the country to be 'India' and answer the same questions again, what would be my responses? My virtual calculation gave a knockout result. This time, I was one of the privileged persons, just a change in context.

I am privileged indeed to get the best of upbringing and education. I had and continue to have access to healthy food. It's a different story if I choose junk food. I have access to transport, public holidays, diverse cultures, and facilities. I am grateful to get all the opportunities in life. I am mindful that I owe all this to my family, society, and country. I learned that many are not as privileged. And if I could help a few to gain access to a few opportunities or things or at the least behave well, that would serve society well. I ended the short walk with a happy and humble feeling. Indeed, I was privileged to have that walk.