We need to be Inclusive Allies in the on-going work to improve diversity, equity and inclusion

Post lockdown we need to create a sense of belonging for all identities

Founder, Diverse Educators

Allies:

noun. a state formally cooperating with another for a military or other purpose.

verb. combine or unite a resource or commodity with (another) for mutual benefit.

Allyship:

A lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals and/or groups of people. not self-defined—work and efforts must be recognized by those you are seeking to ally with.

Why do we need to be Inclusive Allies?

We are all humans. We are all equal. We all need to check our privilege. We need to empathise with the struggle that some people go through. We need to be aware of the obstacles and the barriers in the way of some people on their journey.  We need to be aware of the impact of prejudice and discrimination.

#HeForShe and #WhiteAlly are two labels I have heard used in the last few years as the grassroots communities encourage supporters to join their movements for change.

Much like #DiverseEd aims to make connections between the different communities, we need a term to capture everyone who works with others to further diversity and inclusion. At the #CollaborativeSupportForWomen event and our #DiverseEd event we have promoted the idea of Inclusive Allies:

Amy Ferguson spoke about Allyship at the Collaborative Support for Women event and the recording is here.

Patrick Ottley O’Connor spoke about Allyship at the Virtual Diverse Educators event and the recording is here.

Allyship is a process, and everyone has more to learn. Allyship involves a lot of listening. Sometimes, people say “doing ally work” or “acting in solidarity with” to reference the fact that “ally” is not an identity, it is an ongoing and lifelong process that involves a lot of work.

Inclusive Allyship

Inclusive allyship is:

  • Men working alongside women to smash glass ceilings and advance gender equality.
  • White people working alongside people of colour to smash concrete ceilings and advance racial equity.
  • Heterosexual people working alongside Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex people to smash the gay glass ceiling.
  • Able-bodied people working alongside disabled people to smash the glass disability glass ceiling.

How do we support as Inclusive Allies?

Allyship is about confronting othering, ‘isms’, privilege, prejudice. Allyship is about standing up and speaking out on social justice issues.

I found a great website called Diversability which encourages us to think differently about allyship and I have lifted the below advice from The Guide to Allyship.

How to be an Inclusive Ally

This is what we can do:

  •   Take on the struggle as your own.
  •   Stand up, even when you feel scared.
  •   Transfer the benefits of your privilege to those who lack it.
  •   Acknowledge that even though you feel pain, the conversation is not about you.
  •   Be willing to own your mistakes and de-centre yourself.
  •   Understand that your education is up to you and no one else.

Being an Inclusive Ally is about white people, straight people and able-bodied people being aware of our privilege. We need to do the work, the inner work, to reflect, to learn and to grow. As an Inclusive Ally there are different roles we can take on to move the conversation and the agenda for diversity, equity and inclusion forward. 

7 ways to be an Inclusive Ally:

  1. The Sponsor
  2. The Champion
  3. The Amplifier
  4. The Advocate
  5. The Scholar
  6. The Upstander
  7. The Confidant

Allyship will not always be comfortable. We need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. We need to check our privilege and realise that our momentary discomfort is not comparable to the long-term discomfort that people live with. Trauma and tragedy are the lived experienced for many people.

The last few months have been emotionally-charged. Our colleagues, our communities and our children who come from diverse backgrounds have potentially been deeply affected by the tragic murder of George Flood. I say potentially as we cannot assume that everyone has experienced and responded in the same way. To deepen your understanding I recommend reading this article on How to be an Ally During Times of Tragedy.

Becoming and being an Inclusive Ally requires intention, commitment and action. We need to lean into this space, no matter how hard, how painful and how uncomfortable it is.

What do we do to be Inclusive Allies?

For leaders, being an ally is a journey.  Even the most inclusive leaders admit they have room to grow.  The work never stops, yet it is your choice to start, to practise, and to be better every single day. There is a training programme here you may be interested in on leading like an ally.

Following our most recent Diverse Educators conference in June we have a series of free training videos of the event available for staff CPD on the topics of Landscape, Curriculum, Culture and Leadership: 

I have also started a series of weekly webcasts with a HR and D&I specialist called #FastForwardDiversityInclusion available here 

My #DiverseEdPledge from the event is to be a better Inclusive Ally. Let’s all be upstanders for what is right, not bystanders for what is wrong.

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