Four Types of Power

It is important for gender mainstreaming specialists to have an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of institutional assessments and mainstreaming frameworks. One key tool in this journey of understanding is the four types of power model, which includes:

• power over — controlling power, which may be responded to with compliance, resistance (which weakens processes of victimization), or manipulation
• power to — generative or productive power (sometimes incorporating or manifesting as forms of resistance or manipulation) which creates new possibilities and actions without domination
• power with — a sense of the whole being greater than the sum of the individuals, especially when a group tackles problems together
• power from within — the spiritual strength and uniqueness that resides in each one of us and makes us truly human, its basis is self- acceptance and self-respect which extend, in turn, to respect for and acceptance of others as equals

Learn more about the types of power here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0961452951000157074