Authentic Allyship in Promoting Workplace Inclusion

Personal story time: I recently picked up my six-year old daughter from a playdate, and she started telling me about a game she and her friends had been playing called ‘Black Man.’ The basic premise is that a Black Man hides in the trees and they had to go toward the trees, and if someone calls out ‘Black Man’ they had to run away as fast as they could.

Now, given my area of work, values and beliefs, you can imagine what this evoked in me! I tried to remain curious and ask her why they would run away. She she said because the Black Man was a ‘villain’ and trying to get them. What?! Ahhhh!

But I could feel a sense of shame overcoming me and I reprimanded myself for not doing a better job of shaping her young mind when it comes to matters of diversity.

At that moment, I started thinking about how I could use this opportunity to teach her to become an ally in a similar way that I promote allyship in the workplace.

The Concept of Allyship

The term ‘ally’ means advocate in its most basic form. Allies use their privilege to support a cause and leverage their voice to bring attention to a specific topic or issue they believe in. When applied to workplace diversity, allies are supporters for inclusion and proactively work toward inciting change.

Some of the characteristics of allyship include:

●    Building strong relationships through trust and accountability with minority groups

●    Using learning opportunities to grow and make real changes

●    Combining words with actions

●    Defined and recognised as an ally by others, not just yourself

Allies are uplifting voices that promote equality and inclusion, even when the ones being excluded or treated unfairly aren’t advocating for themselves. When allyship is present in the workplace, a greater level of accountability is present.

Authentic versus Performative Allyship

Allyship isn’t just a matter of verbally acknowledging a problem and agreeing with the need to support it. In fact, this is the very definition of performative allyship, a practice that is best avoided in organisations who want allyship to be more than lip service.

“Performative allyship usually involves the “ally” receiving some kind of reward — on social media, it’s that virtual pat on the back for being a “good person” or “on the right side.” - Holiday Phillips

In performative allyship, racism can still abound because the thoughts, statements, and actions being touted produce nothing useful to incite real change.

Bringing authentic allyship into a corporate environment begins with cultural change. Organisations that have made it part of their culture to admit mistakes, proactively seek out inequalities and promote a fair work environment, are where real progress is able to thrive.

Let’s look at some things you can do to encourage allyship at work:

1. Look Inwardly

It’s easy to look at known hate groups and believe you don’t identify with them. But is what are your unconscious biases (we all have them) that might prevent you from being an ally?

2. Hold Each Other Accountable

When you notice instances of inequality at work, do you call attention to them? A culture of accountability allows everyone to speak their voice without repercussion.

3. Associate Yourself with Diversity

Make friends with people who are different to you. Learning more about the people around you creates real unity.

As for my daughter, we had a conversation about why associating the colour black with being bad, even as a game, might make some people with that skin colour feel upset and hurt. I used this situation as a learning opportunity (for both of us!) because I believe that allyship can be learned and demonstrated at any age.

How will you be an ally in the workplace?