What is allyship?

Following our partnership with TikTok, where we launched our #MyAlly challenge; we thought it would be very important for us to highlight the importance of Allyship and how you can become an ally.

What is Allyship?

Allyship is a process in which a person of privilege works in solidarity and partnership with a marginalised group of people to help take down the systems that challenge that groups basic rights, equal access, and ability to thrive in our society.

How you can be an Ally

There are, of course, many actions to take to become an active ally, but here are some important steps to get started:

Recognise your privilege

Understand your privilege –An important thing to remember is that having privilege doesn’t mean that you’ve never had to struggle in your life

Educate yourself

Beyond acknowledging and understanding your privilege, an easy first step to effective allyship is to educate yourself on your ally’s issues- Seek out and utilise the thousands of resources at your disposal: read books and articles, listen to informative podcasts

Listen to and amplify your Ally’s voice

One of the most important steps to being an ally and to better understand the realities of marginalised groups is to listen to what your ally is saying- Beyond just listening, find ways to amplify the voices and be prepared to talk up and challenge the status quo

Challenge the status quo

There will be times when you will need to have difficult conversations to challenge the status quo. Part of being an ally is confronting the way some people think; whether that’s in your family, your workplace, or at school- These discussions can be uncomfortable and difficult, but they’re important to have in order to spread awareness and educate others on issues

Protest, donate and sign petitions

Effective action is one of the most important parts of being an ally, you should take real action to demand change, today and everyday. Making a real change can be done by getting involved in local protests, volunteering for a cause or making a donation to an organisations that supports and empowers your Alley’s issues. If you are unable to donate or attend a local protest there are many ways you can take action; including signing petitions

Resources to become a better Ally

For more ways to get started on being an active and effective ally, here are some great resources

https://guidetoallyship.com/#what-is-an-ally

https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/spring-2018/how-to-be-an-ally

https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/equality/allyship/

https://theantioppressionnetwork.com/allyship/

If you would like to read more on our partnership with TikTok please click here

Written by Rochelle Powell

Photo by Womanizer WOW Tech on Unsplash