About power
Power can be described as “the ability to control circumstances.”
Oftentimes, political scientists define power as the ability to influence the behaviour of others, with or without resistance.
Within social justice work, power can be defined as access to resources and/or privileges. Depending on your social position, you are more than likely to have different amounts of power in various parts of your life.
Traditionally, there are some groups that have more access to societal power and some that have less.
Groups with access to more power
- Men
- White people
- Upper/middle class and rich people
- Adults
- Heterosexuals
- Able-bodied/able-minded people
- Canadian-born people and Canadian citizens
Groups with less access to power
- Women
- Black, Indigenous and People of colour
- Poor and working-class people
- Youth and elderly people
- Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual (2SLGBTQQIA+) people
- People with disabilities
- Immigrants
Learn more
Every day, we move and operate within systems of power that other people have constructed. But we’re often uncomfortable talking about power. Why?
In the Ted Talk, “How to understand power”, writer, educator and civic entrepreneur Eric Liu describes the six sources of power and explains how understanding them is key to being an effective citizen.
As you watch the video, reflect on three questions:
- What groups have had access to power within our society?
- What groups have had less power?
- What systems have allowed for this power imbalance to occur?