Diversifying Power with Jennie Stephens

The Mind Takeaway Podcast

In this episode, we speak to Jennie Stephens, Professor of Sustainability Science & Policy and Director of School of Public Policy & Urban Affairs at Northeastern University in Boston.

Professor Stephens’ most recent book, Diversifying Power: Why We Need Antiracist, Feminist Leadership on Climate and Energy (Island Press, 2020), inspires collective action with stories of innovative diverse leaders who are linking climate and energy with jobs and economic justice, health and food, transportation and housing. Trained at Harvard and Caltech, she is an educator, social justice advocate, and internationally-recognized expert on renewable transformation, energy democracy, climate justice, and gender in energy.

Book: https://islandpress.org/books/diversifying-power

Timestamps:

02:36 The premise of Jennie's new book, Diversifying Power, is about leadership that acknowledges the complex power structures that give privilege to some at the expense of marginalizing others.

04:22 How feminist leadership isn't just about women; it's an invitation for all of us to acknowledge the harm to society and the hurt for some many when we have these complicated power structures.

05:04 The importance of empowerment and holding both ourselves and the organizations we work for accountable so that we are not perpetuating inequities and disparities.

08:08 We already have the technologies right now to move away from fossil fuels, to shift to a renewal based society. Still, profiting from continuing to use fossil fuels are investing in undermining science and technology.

10:18 The research shows that when women, people of minority backgrounds, and indigenous people are in leadership positions, they bring different priorities, lived experiences, and perceptions of risk when it comes to the Climate Crisis.

12:06 How transformation always requires disruption, which is also uncomfortable; however, it's a window of opportunity to take action against climate change and inequality.

13:29 No one will benefit if we do not allow our planet to regenerate,, regardless of our net worth, if we end up with a dead ocean or deplete our natural resources.

16:26 Jennie shares one example from her book about the dangers of individualistic, technology-based thinking that doesn't consider our social structures.

22:39 The benefits of cognitive diversity in having different people from all backgrounds in leadership roles.

24:54 The idea of growing the squad, referring to, for example, in the United States, the four junior congresswomen representing four different states who have made such positive changes.

29:26 When we are scared and stressed out, we often tend to act in an individualistic way and only think about our own survival.

30:33 Some great examples of compassionate, empathetic female leaders during the pandemic, where transparency, clear communication, and community-based leadership were demonstrated, elevated people to rise about the fear.

33:10 Is it not time to take leadership off the pedestal and bring it to all of us in the form of collective action by seeing ourselves as leaders and inspiring others to do the same.

36:35 The Importance of avoiding generational conflicts by thinking about and listening to our young people regarding climate and social issues.

40:31 How politicians cannot see past their terms, business up to the next quarter and humans cannot think further than a generation when making decisions that affect our future.