Leading Libraries Series: Leading for Inclusion

The Leading for Inclusion set consists of the following modules:

• Inclusion and inclusive leadership
• Challenges to inclusive practice
• Power and privilege
• Developing allyship

You are in the Developing allyship module

Developing allyship

The big idea: understanding allyship

We live in an unequal society. To uplift us all, particularly people from marginalised groups or disadvantaged background, we need to be deliberate in how we redistribute opportunities and resources. This will help to create more equity and equality, ultimately enhancing life outcomes for all people. Most of us would support these aspirations and want to do our bit to improve the situation.

In our day-to-day lives though, when we are thinking about inclusion and how we might affect it positively, the issues involved can seem very overwhelming. It's really hard to know where to start with such an important issue. If you are feeling that it's hard to begin, a great place to start is to think about the simple idea of 'allyship' and how you might become a better ally for the people around you who are at risk of being excluded.

What is allyship?

Allyship is the effort and position taken by members of a privileged group, to share their power and privilege to support and advance the prospects of people from marginalized groups. Allyship can take place at a society level, as well as within more specific contexts such as the workplace.

Allyship is not just a moral imperative, the research shows us that society, organisations and businesses all thrive and experience improved performance when diversity of people is embraced and all people have the opportunity to thrive.

Importantly, allyship is something that is done together. It is a position and relationship where all people involved hold equal value and power. As it is a relationship, you need to actively engage with people from marginalised groups to understand what action you can take as an ally that would be most helpful to them. It is not something you can do alone.

There are many forms of allyship and many different ways in which you can be an ally for others, regardless of your role, your own level of privilege or your own experience on exclusion. The rest of this module explores this vital concept in more depth and will help you think about how you can take practical actions to become a more effective ally yourself.

Continue to: Understanding allyship