This website uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some of these cookies are used for visitor analysis, others are essential to making our site function properly and improve the user experience. By using this site, you consent to the placement of these cookies. Click Accept to consent and dismiss this message or Deny to leave this website. Read our Privacy Statement for more.
There are many different ways you can become an ally, or even advance your allyship. Every step or action, however small it may feel, helps to make a difference. Developing your own allyship can also be a stretching and enriching journey for
yourself. You are likely to learn a lot about yourself, including:
awareness of your own biases and their impact
how well you develop meaningful reciprocal relationships with people who are different to you
how well you engage in challenging and emotive conversations.
Karen Catlin has identified seven different types of allyship, in the book ‘Better allies’.
It is important to become an ally in a way that is comfortable and meaningful to you, as this will make your contribution and support towards others more impactful.
Openly supporting people and colleagues from marginalised groups. This includes recommending them for projects and development opportunities, as well as actively sharing their expertise with others to help raise their profile.
Actively deferring to people and colleagues from marginalised groups, and deliberately sharing power and authority with them. This includes deferring to them in meetings, conferences and events so they too are recognised for their talent,
expertise and contributions.
Using your influence and social networks to actively bring people from marginalised groups into influential networks. This includes holding peers in this network to account when they are not being inclusive.
Ensuring a wide range of voices are heard and given a seat at the decision-making table. This largely involves ensuring representation is achieved within and through communication.
Actively seeking to learn about the challenges and prejudices people from marginalised groups face. This includes their life experiences both within and outside of work. Scholars actively carry out their own research, and do not expect
people from marginalised groups to educate them.
Creates a safe space for members of underrepresented or marginalised groups to express their fears, frustrations, and needs. Simply listening to their stories and recognising the truth of their situation helps people to feel heard and
supported in their experience and can give them a sense of hope and courage to change things.
Actively noticing exclusion and wrong-doing and taking action to combat it. This includes calling out offensive comments, jokes and actions. This can be the most challenging form of Allyship as it requires you to take up your authority
and challenge the behaviours and actions of others – even if they are in senior leadership positions. It also requires effective listening and communication so that all involved can learn from the situation.
Whatever type of ally you choose to be, it is important that you commit. You need to commit to yourself and the development you need, and you commit to the people/marginalised groups you intend to support.
Pause for reflection - Individual activity
What kind of ally are you, or could you be to people from marginalised groups in the libraries sector? This could be staff and/or citizens.
What do you need to learn and do in order to commit to your allyship?
Pause for reflection - Team activity
One of the best ways to think about how allyship could play out in your work environment is to begin to have conversations about the possibilities of this process. As we said in the introduction to this module, allyship is not self-defined, so it's
always important to get feedback from others about how they are experiencing your support.
Start by discussing your collective understanding of what allyship means and how it is already playing out in your own team, department or service
Move onto thinking about your individual strengths as allies. What kind of ally is each person? How might each of you use those strengths more actively in your work?
How can you support and helpfully challenge each other on this journey?
Introducing the Leading Libraries series. It covers the findings from the C21st Public Servant research, the origins of the four 'Leading for' capabilities and explains how to use the materials.
This set introduces you to resilience and why it is important for leaders. It covers emotional resilience; mental resilience; relationship resilience and social resilience.
It covers the key concepts of dialogue and why it is important for leaders, listening and inquiry skills, an introduction to 'conversational moves' and how to create a space for dialogue.
Emphasising the need for inclusive practice in our services and communities. It covers the foundations of inclusion, barriers to inclusion, power and privilege and allyship skills.
Building creativity and design skills for leaders. It covers the innovation cycle, diagnosis and perspective shifting skills, creative idea generation and safe-to-fail experimentation.
Print Page
