Privilege Blindness: The Dark Secret of Ratan Tata’s Success!
Nepotism, paparazzi culture, chauvinism, cronyism, and favouritism are a few advantages which you're aware of. Let me introduce you to what you're not aware of: Privilege Blindness.
Did you know your grandmother was/is smarter than you? You might think you're cool because you were born in the internet era and can learn from a variety of sources. Yes, you're smart, but don't you think if your grandmother got the same privilege, then she could not differ from you, or maybe be better than you? Okay, let me make it apparent to you. Take the example of Ratan Tata. Don’t get furious with his name being used to reveal the blind spots of humans. Even Ratan Tata once said that he was privileged. Here are a few questions-cum-arguments that will help you reflect on the fact that Ratan Tata is privileged.
I. What if he’s not part of the Tata Group? (Under Jamsetji Tata & Naval Tata)
II. What if he didn't attend his Riverdale Country School graduation in New York City? How many of you know someone who goes to New York for graduation? Do the same for the year 1959. There must be very few, but Ratan Tata was one of them.
III. What if he didn't receive a degree in architecture from Cornell University? (Cornell University is ranked #22 in World University Rankings 2021)
IV. What if he didn't attend the seven-week Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School? (Harvard is still a dream for millions in India. Back then, it must be a part of a highly privileged thing)
V. Forget about all these. Just think, what if Ratan was born in 2008, the year of the Mumbai terrorist attacks on the Taj Hotel? (Till 2022, Instagram Reels can have distracted him or might he learn to cook and search for a job in another Tata Group of hotels)
Now, I'm not against all the benefits that people receive throughout their lives. The problem is in acknowledgement and self-awareness. Someone can channel this privilege to make more common people get the same privilege and start the race from the same position. I'm glad to see this is what Ratan Tata is doing through philanthropy. He is addressing the inequality of opportunity. He acknowledges and addresses the systemic advantages and disadvantages that people experience daily. For leaders, recognising their privilege blindness can help reduce the impact of bias and create a more level playing field for everyone. Being advantaged by race, gender, and opportunity comes with a responsibility to do something about changing a system that unfairly disadvantages others.
Here we are, hatching a bubble of ideas and doing very little with so many advantages. Remember that the greatest tool this generation has is “information and data.” We can get valuable information with a click; we can order books from Amazon with a 3-click; we can get groceries with 4–5 clicks + 10 minutes wait; and we're only a click and 30 minutes away from lunch, but we hardly know how to Google, how to use those data and advantages for our benefits, because we're not aware of these benefits we're getting from being Genz. As a result, we have a degree of privilege blindness even a bit, but it is.
