Peggy McIntosh is renowned as an educational innovator, feminist activist, author, and public speaker. McIntosh derived her understanding of white privilege from observing parallels with male privilege. Her work has been instrumental in introducing the dimension of privilege into discussions of gender, race, sexuality, and colonialism. By making lists other own unearned advantages, she has inspired countless others to explore experiences of privilege and disadvantage in their own lives and cultures. McIntosh is best known for her 1989 article titled “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.”
McIntosh is the founder of the National SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) Project on Inclusive Curriculum, the nation’s largest interdisciplinary program preparing teachers to do deeply personal group work in their own institutions. She has spent over 58 years in higher education teaching and research.
In recognition of her life’s work, McIntosh received the Centennial Medallion, the highest award given by Harvard University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, for her “unflinching commitment to naming white privilege and confronting systemic forces of oppression.”
