Allyship has become one of the most common terms in the diversity and inclusion ecosystem. It is now over-used in our opinion, and in its overuse, it is losing meaning and impact. The definition of Allyship that we use in our work is “An active, consistent, and arduous practice of unlearning and re-evaluating, in which a person in a position of privilege and power seeks to operate in solidarity with a marginalized group” (https://theantioppressionnetwork.com/allyship/).

One cannot name themselves an ally, however, one can work in allyship with a marginalized group. It is then up to those facing barriers to determine if your role and work are worthy of the title “Ally”.

Allies have an important role to play in improving diversity in organizations and across society, but we need to think about the roles and responsibilities that Allies need to take on so that they are impactful and that their actions lead to better inclusion. Allyship should be hard work (note the arduous, active, and consistent parts of the definition that we shared. Emmanuel Acho provides the following pieces about Allyship that help think about what you need to do to truly act in allyship:

1. When you say you are an ally, you are saying you are willing to risk your privilege to stand up for justice. 
2. True allyship is a commitment to fight this fight for the long haul: long after it ceases to be a top-of-the-fold news item, long after the cameras have stopped capturing it.
3. True allyship demands that it move from conversation to action.

(Acho, 2021)

To work in allyship is a responsibility – for your learning, and to then use your position of power and privilege to act in solidarity and advocacy for those who either cannot do so for themselves or when your voice will have a greater impact.

We sit in this juncture today, where we have seen the social justice topics that rose to the forefront in 2020, and when we are seeing additional populations raise their voices, and share their lived experiences. None of the stories are good. Far too many people are being excluded, and facing horrific experiences of racism, misogyny, ableism, homophobia, elitism, classism, ageism, and it is not going to get better anytime soon. We have dehumanized so many folks for far too long, and now it is time to re-humanize them and to find new ways forward with each human, in all their humanity at the center of everything we do.

The time to act is now. COVID raised our consciousness to social justice, and we each have a responsibility to act. Allyship can be a tremendous way to move forward – but pay attention and be diligent to what that will require. We would like to share some ways to think about Allyship and the roles and responsibilities that are part of associating with that term.

Active work is about exploring what are you doing and how are you doing it? In being active you should be constantly doing something to act in support of those who need it. This might be educating yourself, it might be speaking up, it might be acting in support – but it must be active.

Arduous means that this is not easy, and it shouldn’t be. Those who you are supporting have not had an easy path so you need to work hard to support them and to ensure that they have what they need to move forward.

Always and consistently undertake this work and support those who need it. This work needs to be continuous, folks facing barriers and challenges don’t get time off so why would you. It needs to be a consistent practice and ongoing work to move these conversations and this work forward.

Acknowledge when something is happening in our world that will impact those around you, and particularly those with a similar lived experience. You may not understand the context of the situation or the impact that it is happening on someone, but the acknowledgment that you appreciate that something is happening and that you see them and support them in that lived experience is a huge support for them. Sometimes when we don’t know what to say or do, we do nothing, and this is not helpful for those who are living through trauma or confusion – they need to know that you know something is happening for them.

Authentic is the opportunity to show up for the right reasons, to fight for justice, and to stand beside or behind or in front of those who are seeking your help. It is not for the photo op or the following, it is for the person and the long haul. It is about being there for the right reasons, doing the right things, at the right time and it is not performative or with expectations. 

Accept when you’ve made a mistake. Accept when you’ve caused harm, even if it wasn’t your intention. Learn from it, ask for input on what you could have done better, and then act in a better way next time. We will all make mistakes in this work – the important part is what you do with that (and note that getting defensive and angry will lose your credibility quickly). (Asare, 2021)

Apologize for when you make a mistake and for what was done. It is not the responsibility of the victim to help you understand how you’ve victimized them. If you know you’ve caused harm, rectify it first by offering an apology. (Asare, 2021)

Accountability for your actions (or inactions) and explore what you’ve done and think about how you will correct the behavior moving forward. Own what happened, learn from it, be better next time. (Asare, 2021)

When you consider what that means, and what the roles and responsibilities truly are to undertake Allyship, we hope this will not scare you off, and we hope that it also helps you understand why we began with articulating this term is overused and is losing impact on the true responsibility that it is. Take it up – our world needs more allies, we need to humanize each of these topics, and the real and dire impacts that are playing out each and every day throughout the world. We need to act, be authentic, and be accountable. Join us and let’s bring the meaning and intention back to Allyship! 

Acho, Emmanuel, (2021). Retrieved April 2, 2021. https://millennial-grind.com/30-quotes-from-uncomfortable-conversations-with-a-black-man-by-emmanuel-acho

Asare, Janice Gassam. (2021). Retrieved April 5, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/allyship-requires-accountability-asare-ph-d-she-her-hers-/?trk=eml-email_series_follow_newsletter_01-hero-1-title_link&midToken=AQHYiQZ9TXCZIg&fromEmail=fromEmail&ut=0qwhXKWtVHp9I1

Click on the link to read more.