Allyship in Action: “There’s No Time to Rest”
Allyship is a word that comes up again and again, yet few truly know what this looks like in action. Allies have the power to change minds, create inclusion and protect those that are marginalized. Yet too often people don’t know where to start or worry they will say the wrong thing. Zoe Schulz from myGwork spoke to Kevin Lyons, Senior HR Manager at Pearson, and a proud visible ally to the LGBT+ community, about why allyship must be proactive, the small acts that we can start with, and what the day in the life of an ally really looks like.
Hi Kevin! Thanks for chatting with us. Can you tell us a bit more about yourself?
I'm a commentator on HR trends and topics, as well as a diversity, equity, and inclusion champion. Plus, I am an advocate and ally for a number of inclusion, diversity, and equity causes. And my day job is as an HR professional.
And what does a day in your life look like?
Well, I have this day job as an HR professional, so I do the things that an HR person does in their day, but I also always use each day as an opportunity to what I call “progress on the journey”, which is that the path to true equality across a range of marginalized groups in society is long and it is tough. So, every day there is a need to create a focus on that and I try to weave this into each day.
How do you incorporate allyship into each day?
What I try to do is think about allyship as action and ask myself “What can I do to create tangible action and change?” And so that is my focus.
Why is it important to you that allyship is present each day?
Well as I said earlier, the path to true equality is long and there are many obstacles. And if we don't focus on it every day, if we don't work hard and understand that there's a huge challenge here, then we're not going to make the progress needed. So that's why it must be a daily activity. There's no time to rest. We need to keep up the pace and the urgency of the conversation and our actions.
What’s one simple thing someone can do during their day to show up as an ally?
I think a simple thing that anyone can do that's interested in becoming an ally or getting more involved in allyship is to expand their reading and their watch list. Just reading a book or watching a particular program, or any content focusing on LGBT+ inclusion can really change your life. It can set your allyship in the right direction and it's a relatively simple thing to do.
What advice do you have for someone wanting to become an ally who doesn’t know where to start?
There are small things, such as adding your gender pronouns to your email signature or introducing yourself using gender pronouns when you're talking to people. And then you can build on this. You might connect with other allies and try to get involved in programs where allies start to make big differences with lasting tangible change. And it may grow from there with education and awareness, to the point where perhaps you will one day be leading a program of tangible change yourself!
How can workplaces create an environment where allyship flourishes?
I think there are a few areas that workplaces can help allyship, one of which is policies. If the right policies are in place, if you have inclusive policies in place – for example, companies that have a trans inclusion policy – you're setting the framework, the guidelines, and allowing an important conversation to take place. You're also setting the standards for the behavior that you think is right as an organization.
I believe that organizations can then build on this by then encouraging education and awareness. So where, for example, there might be events that a company can run, there might be tangible items that can be given to employees, like lanyards, lapel badges, pins or flags, which help education awareness and create conversation. Another example is that organizations can encourage the use of gender pronouns and by doing so they're allowing the promotion of gender identity and expression.
So, these are the main areas: policies, the framework, education, and awareness.
What does true allyship look like to you?
Practical action. An ally must be involved in practical action.
There are a few things that I think define an ally: an ally must be prepared to work, do good things and not expect validation. It's tiring enough in an LGBT+ person's day, dealing with discrimination and blockers that they get in life, without having to then validate somebody because they're helping in some way. Trust that the validation will be given to you, in the right way at the right time, but don't go looking for that.
Always look for opportunities to be an ally. Put yourself between hostility or discrimination and an LGBT+ person. Be prepared to stand up and speak out when the situation arises or where you see that you can do that, and you can sense that opportunity to be proactive.
I think allies can lead others forward. So, we talked about, for example, gender expression and identity. Well, an ally could have a role in helping to educate those in the cisgender straight majority, so that an LGBT+ person doesn’t have to do that – they have enough going on in their day, without having to worry about teaching the whole world about gender identity.
One thing I also feel quite strongly about is rainbow washing during Pride month. I get a little bit tired of organizations that just do this, without tangible programs of action, or treat Pride month as a holiday of LGBT+ inclusion and then go back to their normal ways. For example, look to support an LGBT+ small business, that would be an authentic tangible way that an ally could get involved in what I call practical action.
So, my overall point would be that allies can help and can assist with practical action. Don't leave it to the LGBT+ community to have to do all the hard jobs and proactively lead on what you can. You may have to check in with colleagues. You may have to bounce ideas off them. But trust me if you have the right compass in the right direction, then you will get there.
