Psychological Agency
In July 2023, we began to examine the question, “‘Can People of Color and People of the Global Majority Truly Experience Psychological Safety in the U.S. Workplace?’” Psychological Agency is our answer to that question.
What is Psychological Agency?
We define Psychological Agency as the ability for us to decide how much of ourselves we bring to work, when we do it, who gets to experience our whole selves, and to what degree.
We have the agency to determine these conditions for ourselves, and if we decide to minimize ourselves, to make ourselves less visible, or to whitewash our personalities, intonation, and emotions, it is a strategy because we choose to do so, not because our coworkers are telling us or expecting us to.
Having the choice to decide how we operate within the system gives us the opportunity to reclaim our power.
Our Story
Our collective personal, academic, and professional experiences inform our standpoint for how we understand and contribute to this space. Together, we are friends, colleagues, comrades, and DEI practitioners. We are both transplants to Minnesota, and, as people of color, we have shared lived experiences in the workplace. We also recognize that racism, classism, and misogyny affect us differently based on our identities, which also influences the lens through which we approach this work.