Diversifying Power: Why We Need Antiracist, Feminist Leadership on Climate and Energy

by Jennie C. Stephens, Ted Landsmark (Foreword)

The climate crisis is a crisis of leadership. For too long too many leaders have prioritized corporate profits over the public good, exacerbating climate vulnerabilities while reinforcing economic and racial injustice. Transformation to a just, sustainable renewable-based society requires leaders who connect social justice to climate and energy.

During the Trump era, connections among white supremacy; environmental destruction; and fossil fuel dependence have become more conspicuous. Many of the same leadership deficiencies that shaped the inadequate response in the United States to the coronavirus pandemic have also thwarted the US response to the climate crisis.  The inadequate and ineffective framing of climate change as a narrow, isolated, discrete problem to be “solved” by technical solutions is failing. The dominance of technocratic, white, male perspectives on climate and energy has inhibited investments in social change and social innovations. With new leadership and diverse voices, we can strengthen climate resilience, reduce racial and economic inequities, and promote social justice.

In  Diversifying Power , energy expert Jennie Stephens argues that the key to effectively addressing the climate crisis is diversifying leadership so that antiracist, feminist priorities are central.  All politics is now climate politics, so all policies, from housing to health, now have to integrate climate resilience and renewable energy. 

Stephens takes a closer look at climate and energy leadership related to job creation and economic justice, health and nutrition, housing and transportation. She looks at why we need to resist by investing in bold diverse leadership to curb the “the polluter elite.” We need to reclaim and restructure climate and energy systems so policies are explicitly linked to social, economic, and racial justice. 

Inspirational stories of diverse leaders who integrate antiracist, feminist values to build momentum for structural transformative change are woven throughout the book, along with Stephens’ experience as a woman working on climate and energy. The shift from a divided, unequal, extractive, and oppressive society to a just, sustainable, regenerative, and healthy future has already begun.

But structural change needs more bold and ambitious leaders at all levels, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with the Green New Deal, or the Secwepemc women of the Tiny House Warriors resisting the Trans Mountain pipeline. 

Diversifying Power  offers hope and optimism. Stephens shows how the biggest challenges facing society are linked and anyone can get involved to leverage the power of collective action. By highlighting the creative individuals and organizations making change happen, she provides inspiration and encourages transformative action on climate and energy justice.
 

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Environment, Research, Climate Change

200 pages, Paperback

Published September 17, 2020

Reviews

[Marc Buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please stop by my Podcast Inside Ideas https://youtu.be/saYDVlDGLJo to see or hear the episode I did with Prof. Dr. Jennie C. Stephens on her book Diversifying Power: Why We Need Antiracist, Feminist Leadership on Climate and Energy. I can only recommend for all a powerful read Book about Leadership, Climate Isolationism to Energy Democracy a powerful movement Grow the Squad woman leader movement Resisting Fossil Fueled Foolery.

Or check out the links below:
https://www.innovatorsmag.com/transfo...
https://www.innovatorsmag.com/inside-...
https://medium.com/inside-ideas/jenni...

This is a book from Island Press and the many great books in this genre:
https://islandpress.org/

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Climate change, is not only real, but very much part of what we are all experiencing right now.

Very up to the minute reflections on what we can do, and what our government can do, to help fight for climate change. We should not be approaching this by thinking we can buy all the Teslas and all the solar power, and that will solve everything. We have to think of taking all the boats up with us, instead of leaving some behind.

Slim but powerful book. Helps to see through what the current fossil fuel companies want to do to keep in power.

[Jocelyn]

This was a comprehensive book, though it stays at a 101 level for most of the concepts. It's likely a good introduction for people not familiar with the ideas.

[Ana Karen Rangel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leadership in addressing the climate crisis has historically been dominated by privileged, predominantly white men, reinforcing systems of power that marginalize diverse voices and stifle innovation. The climate crisis, however, is far more than an environmental challenge—it is deeply intertwined with social, racial, and economic justice, and addressing it requires confronting systemic inequities head-on. A shift toward feminist leadership, which prioritizes collaboration, empathy, and community, is essential to creating inclusive spaces where diverse perspectives can drive transformative change and pave the way for sustainable, equitable solutions