The dictionary definition of empowerment is to give official authority or legal power. Synonyms for empowerment are commission, authorize, enable.
Empowerment is generally regarded as a good thing. We often hear that leaders should empower employees to act. One of the ways that the word empowerment was used in the dictionary definition is: “the women’s movement has been inspiring and empowering women….”
I guess the problem I have with the notion of empowerment is that it suggests that we have to wait for somebody else to give us permission to exercise our power. Empowering employees suggests that they are to wait for their superiors to give them the go-ahead to take action.
The first definition of power in the dictionary is ability to act or produce an effect. Everybody has the ability to act or produce an effect. We don’t need to wait to be “empowered.” I think that power is more of an attitude or state of mind of self-confidence that spurs us to achieve our goals, to innovate and to add value wherever we are.
Power, should not be sought as an end in itself, not a goal to be sought. I see power, when used appropriately, as a means that enables us to attain the end result.
From a diversity perspective, I think there is still a strong sentiment that women, people of color, LGBT, people with disabilities and other underrepresented groups are lacking in power. The concepts of power and privilege reinforce these ideas of the unequal power balance.
The concept of empowerment can actually disempower because it suggests that somebody or something outside or ourselves is in control of our power. The power is within. We all already possess it, but many have been duped into believing that we are powerless until we are given the authority to exercise it.
In her new book, Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg writes of women’s persistent inequality: “We hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our hands, and by pulling back when we should be leaning in. ” Raising our hands and leaning in are all acts of “power”.
The mindset that we have to wait to be “em-powered” inhibits D&I progress. Let’s start reframing our language and help those who think they are powerless to claim their inherent power. Let’s advocate for “share-powering” rather than “em-powering”.
