Welcome to Allyship
with Lucy Grimwade & David Barrow.
Written by Lucy.
Welcome to Allyship.
It was by a happy accident that David became my Ally. The truth is, when I received the intro to David, I wasn’t all too fussed about having a call with him. I just thought he would be another white, middle-aged man about to mansplain to me and question my ability to my job, let alone set up my own business.
But to my surprise, David wasn’t who I thought. One phone call turned into weekly mentoring calls and those weekly calls turned into well, you’ll have to subscribe to hear more…
But what I will say, is that I learned a valuable lesson last year - and that is MALE ALLYSHIP matters.
The role of ‘male allies’ are emerging (hooray) and (IMO) seen to be a critical component to drive professional and positive change for all.
Yet, the more research we do. The more conversations we have. The more we see the following challenges:
Gender Stereotypes: Society often conditions men to conform to traditional gender roles - you know, those pink jobs and blue jobs 🤮 which perpetuates harmful stereotypes that limit both men and women.
Fear and Resistance: Those who don't get, will often say men are supporting women because they want to get laid 👀. As crass as this sounds, it's comments or bullying that stop men for exploring how they could contribute. Yeah, male allies do face criticism from peers which gives them that fear backlash for deviating from societal expectations.
Intersectionality: Recognising that gender discrimination intersects with other forms of oppression is essential for effective allyship. Male allies must also navigate the complexities of intersectionality, understanding that women's experiences are influenced by factors such as race, ethnicity, sexuality, and socio-economic background.
Do any of these resonate with you? We would really like to know.
For me, as a white, cis, abled body woman - I can feel that intersectionality is something I personally need to understand, learn and be curious about.
During our keynote at SITs, a question and dare I say it, challenge was offered to us - where David and I faced into our own privilege. It is something we are so aware of, yet having fully grasped a way to share our own story to where we have come from to where we are now.
We hope by sharing our story, we can challenge the status quo and help you find out all you ever wanted to know about allyship, but never dared to ask.
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