Authentic Authentic

Allyship

Participant Packet

© 2021 | The Cee Suite, LLC | All Rights Reserved

 Authentic Allyship | Participant Packet

FOUNDATIONAL CONCEPTS

Privilege | Rights, advantages and benefits that individuals receive because of social groups they
are perceived to be a part of

Power | Ability or authority to influence and make decisions that impact others, including the
allocation of resources or capacity to exercise control over others

Intersectionality | A framework for understanding how social identities overlap with one another
and with systems of power that oppress and advantage people in the workplace and broader
community

Allyship | using your power and privilege to act in solidarity with marginalized groups to work
toward equity and inclusion for everyone.

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Sources: Adapted from the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity & Dartmouth College, Introduction to Power, Privilege and Social
Justice

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Authentic Allyship | Participant Packet

INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION

Why is practicing allyship personally important to you? What impact do you hope to make?

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At work or in your personal life, can you think of a time someone tried to support you and missed
the mark? How would you have preferred they show up for you? What insights can you draw from
this experience to help you practice allyship more meaningfully?

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Have you witnessed acts of performative allyship on campus or in your workplace? Can you think
of any ways for people in your organization(s) to show up more authentically?

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Authentic Allyship | Participant Packet

ALLYSHIP IN ACTION

● Speak up when you witness bias or discrimination

● Amplify the contributions of marginalized people
● Mentor or sponsor underrepresented peers and colleagues
● Question who’s not ‘at the table’ and call in marginalized voices in decision-making
● Advocate for marginalized colleagues, whether or not they are present
● Language matters - avoid language or jokes that marginalizes or triggers other groups
● Share your pronouns (even if you think they’re obvious)
● Ask about accessibility needs (whether or not you need them)
● Call in your family and friends; discuss historical and current-day issues that impact
marginalized communities
● Support businesses owned by marginalized groups
● Volunteer with or donate to organizations working to create systemic change
● Vote!

What other opportunities exist on your campus (or other spaces) for YOU to practice
allyship in solidarity with another community?

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Who might serve as your accountability partner to support you in your journey?

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Authentic Allyship | Participant Packet
RESOURCES

NEXT STEPS

● Start with your ‘why’

● Examine your own power and privilege
● Understand where bias and inequity negatively impact marginalized groups
● Take cues from the groups with whom you seek to act in solidarity
● Take action!

SELF-GUIDED READING

● What it Means to be an Ally, Tulane University

● Allyship, The Anti Oppression Network
● What allies can do to support diversity and inclusion in the workplace, Seattle Times
● Get Used to Asking ‘"Why?", Cari Nazeer
● Black employees say ‘performative allyship’ is an unchecked problem in the office, Fortune
● What it really means to be an anti-racist, and why it's not the same as being an ally, Business
Insider
● Don’t Talk about Implicit Bias Without Talking about Structural Racism, National Equity Project
● Disabilities and Inclusion, Center for Talent Innovation
● Startling Data Reveals Half of LGBTQ Employees in the U.S. Remain Closeted at Work, Human
Rights Campaign
● This One Unconscious Reaction May be Holding Women Back at Work, Fast Company
● Black in corporate America still largely invisible, study finds, NBC News
● The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know About Securing a Seat at the Table, by
Minda Harts
● So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo
● Land Acknowledgement by Native Governance Center

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