Power Structures

The institutional, social, and economic arrangements that distribute power unevenly across groups in society, determining who has access to resources, decision-making authority, and the ability to define norms. In accessibility contexts, power structures shape which disabilities receive attention and funding, whose access needs are prioritized, and which communities are included in research and design processes. Understanding power structures is essential for accessibility work because the tools and strategies disabled people use to navigate daily life are profoundly shaped by their relationship to structures of power and privilege.