Drivers for Change – Consider Your Social Location
Equity Framework > Drivers for Change > Considering Your Social Location
All people have social locations. This means that each person holds a specific place in the world based on the social settings in which they live. Social locations are relational, dynamic, and shaped by relative position in social structures.
Many factors such as class, race, gender identity, Indigeneity, age, ability, religion, migration, sexuality, and geography influence social location. As well, experiences with education, occupation, attitudes, interests, and beliefs impact social location. Social locations intersect and create positions of relative privilege and disadvantage. Reflecting on social location helps inform the boundaries of one’s experience understanding a given issue.
Adapted from:
Morrison, V. (2015). Health inequalities and intersectionality. Montréal, Québec: National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy. Retrieved from
https://www.ncchpp.ca/docs/2015_Ineg_Ineq_Intersectionnalite_En.pdf
Peoples’ Experiences of Oppression. Cultural Safety: Module 2. Glossary: Reflection on definitions. Retrieved from
https://web.archive.org/web/20120826154235/http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/csafety/mod2/index.htm
What I Learned in Class Today: Aboriginal Issues in the Classroom. Discussion Topic 1: Social Position. Retrieved from
https://wilict.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2016/05/3a._Module_1_-_Social_Position.pdf
Further Reading / Additional Resources:
- Anti-oppression resource and training alliance (AORTA): Approaches to power inequity within organizations.
https://results4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Approaches-to-Power-Inequity-Within-Organizations.pdf