Why be an Ally

Lead Together – Bridge Genders and Build Equality.

Wednesday 18 December 2024

Why be an Ally?
Referring to ourselves as allies should be more than just a buzzword or a badge of honour that makes us feel good. What are we actually doing? Is there a conscious commitment to challenging the status quo and taking action? Are we examining longstanding practices that perpetuate systemic inequities?

Allyship training and allyship communities are still relatively new to many organisations. The Centre of Learning is leading the way in growing a community of allies who will challenge themselves and their organisations, use their privilege and influence to keep gender equity on the agenda, and have deep, genuine discussions around complex inclusion topics.

Allyship, in the context of gender equality, refers to the active and supportive role that individuals, typically those from a privileged or majority group, take to advocate for and promote gender equality. An ally is someone who recognises the challenges faced by individuals in marginalised or underrepresented groups and actively works to dismantle barriers and promote inclusivity in order to drive systemic change – we want to take this definition and make it real within workplaces.

Who is this for?
This programme is for those of us who aspire to demonstrate better allyship behaviour in the service of promoting real gender equity in the workplace.

We will gain a clear understanding of the essential values and behaviours of an ally so we have the confidence to take actions which will promote gender equity and grow supportive, collaborative relationships in our personal and professional lives.

In this programme we aim to proactively bring men, and women, into the conversation to explore the allyship journey, building mutal understanding of what allyship means and its inherent challenges. Allyship enriches our personal and professional relationships and enables an openness to building and accessing a support network that will increase our resilience and vulnerability. Inclusion benefits us all, no matter our gender.

What will we cover?
As we move to engage more male allies, we want to understand the barriers to their participation in allyship training. Some of the common themes that came out of the male focused groups we ran included; not being invited, afraid of saying the wrong thing, feeling uncomfortable, not seeing the need for allyship, lack of clarity about how to get involved, or greater interest in other employee resource groups (ERGs). For most organisations, these are challenges that can be overcome by integrating purposeful, inclusive, and informative communication targeted to men and explicitly showing the value and benefits for them to be engaged in allyship programs.

Here's the invite
Therefore, we are directly asking and fully encouraging men to attend this programme. Research shows that when comparing men who participate in allyship programs to their male colleagues who do not, the impact of ally training and engagement is clear.

When asked about gender-biased behaviours that commonly occur in the workplace, men who have participated in allyship programs were two to three times more likely to have recognised and witnessed these behaviours in the past year.

Our call to action is to create a community of allies who are willing to share and grow in practicing allyship actions. We will make mistakes but learn from them, create a safe space to have tough conversations so we can Lead Together – Bridge Genders and Build Equality.

Be at this table to help make real change. Book your place today: Lead Together - Bridging Genders, Building Equality | Women in Business NI