A student necessarily has less power than their supervisor.

This is because:

• A supervisor has a permanent job contract, usually for life
• A supervisor has reputation, relationships, and influence in the academic community that you’re interested in being a part of
• A supervisor usually has institutionally-mandated responsibilities that can include:
  • Assigning you grades that may determine access to future financial opportunities
  • Approving your course choices
  • Approving academic milestones towards your eventual graduation (e.g., comprehensive exams, your thesis/dissertation)
  • Approving the academic or sometimes non-academic work you are allowed to perform for pay
  • Approving your required research ethics submissions
  • Approving or applying for funding for your research
  • Approving funding for attending conferences
• A supervisor usually has implicit responsibilities or abilities that they can choose to enact—or not—depending on whether they like you:
  • Introducing you to other influential people who may be part of your professional network
  • Making you aware of and helping you prepare for institutional requirements for graduation (such as comprehensive exams)
  • Supporting your research through feedback, mentorship, editing, project planning, funding, etc.
• A supervisor usually has some support systems of their own by nature of being older, married, having bought a house many years ago, etc.

All of these are power imbalances. Even if your supervisor is amazing and supports you completely, they still have these (perhaps well-earned) privileges which amount to power that you do not have. Due to the institutional power imbalances listed below, it is up to them whether they wield this power OVER you, or assist you in growing your own power.

Similarly to supervisors, institutions necessarily have much more power than you. This is because:

• Universities are typically organized as hierarchical corporations, e.g., run by councils, boards, or senates. Each organizational unit is also hierarchical, e.g., each department has committees and subcommittees which carry out the business of the department. The hierarchies are typically quite strict, i.e., a department head or committee will nominally have total decision-making power.
• As a student, you are not usually enfranchised within the organization itself, i.e., considered to be a member with voting rights, or usually you do not have representatives that have voting rights for most decisions that are relevant to your experience.
• If there are advocacy positions, they are typically (and for good reason) housed in separate corporations, e.g., student unions, RA/TA unions, graduate and alumni associations. These corporations often have legal contracts with the university that allow them to bring forth grievances or suggestions, but rarely have any direct say over university activities.