White Privilege Around the World

Image retrieved from:
https://blog.shrm.org/archive/2011/09

White privilege is not a phenomenon exclusive to the United States. White people in countries around the world also are given the advantages and the “invisible knapsack” of white privilege. In Asia, for example, white people are more likely to be hired as English teachers, despite whether or not they are the most qualified, because parents believe that white people speak better English (Zhang, 2013). White privilege is so prevalent that some companies even hire fake businessmen to represent them because “having foreigners in nice suits gives the company face” (Moxley, 2010). In many Asian countries, race is divided into three categories - black, white, and yellow - with whiteness highly preferred, according to Zhang. “Asia is believed to be a land free of racism because Asian people seem to talk less about race. However, there is no such utopia where every race and gender can be treated fairly” (Zhang, 2013).

In 1948, apartheid made racial segregation legal in South Africa. Even though it was abolished in 1994, white people still have advantages that other races do not. In her article “A Comprehensive Guide to White Privilege in South Africa”, Gillian Schutte provides 40 examples of white privilege in present-day South Africa, a mere fraction of the privileges that actually exist. One of the most striking examples that Schutte highlights  is “white privilege is claiming you are ‘African’ and into ‘Ubuntu’ but doing and saying nothing about the inequalities you see around you, thus maintaining your white privilege while assuming commonality and brotherhood with those exploited by the system of which you are a beneficiary” (Schutte, 2013). This example shows that many claim equality and “colorblindness” in appearance, but still reap the benefits of white privilege without acknowledging or trying to deconstruct the racially-based system of advantages and disadvantages.

Laura Sherbin and Ripa Rashid, in their article Diversity Doesn’t Stick Without Inclusion, prove the point that white privilege extends into South America as well. They interviewed an “indigenous Peruvian” employee in a Chilean-based company (Sherbin and Rashid, 2017). He “is respected, well-paid, and included in the leadership team’s decision-making discussions” (Sherbin and Rashid, 2017). Yet he confessed that he does not feel his future in the company aligns with his potential. “‘I know they value me,’ he said, ‘but I am an indigenous person, and they are white, legacy, and Spanish. They will never make me a partner, because of my color and background’” (Sherbin and Rashid, 2017).

These startling illustrations of white privilege span the globe, proving that the issue is not constrained inside the borders of the United States, but epidemic in both location and effect, reaching deep into every area of life.