What Allyship Looks Like: Panel Recap

Interviews

As part of our allyship campaign this August, we recently hosted a panel discussion with LGBTQ+ allies to discuss their achievements and role in supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Speakers from various organizations provided their perspectives on how best to be vocal in contributing to LGBTQ+ equality, where they think the journey of allyship is going, and - vitally - how to not steal the spotlight and step on the shoes of people within the community.

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Aasha Tikoo, Director of Strategic Partnerships at myGwork, led our panel of professionals, opening the floor for the conversation to begin. Sheena Amin, Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Fishawack Health, discussed the value of openness in the workplace as method of vocal allyship. In particular, being open about personal experiences, and showing where you stand on equality.

“Empathy building initiatives are vital,” said Sheena. “Encouraging open conversations, sharing personal experiences, hosting workshops that promote active listening can really enhance understanding amongst colleagues. Realizing the impact of discrimination on an individual level can ignite the motivation to become allies.”

Tracy Sayler, Sr. Executive Assistant at Expedia Group, added to this sentiment, stating that being vocal and authentic in your allyship is integral. However, she also continued with an equally important point that allies must make sure that, in their vocal support, they don’t take all the attention away from LGBTQ+ individuals.

“If you're invited to a meeting or what have you, look around and ask yourself ‘am I here with a good representation or am I taking someone else's spot’,” she added. “Say we're talking about trans issues, am you the right person to be there or should you bring someone else within that community that wasn't invited? I would say consistently show up, but also make sure that they have a voice and use yours to make sure that they have that seat at the table.”

Discussing the necessary role of trust between LGBTQ+ people and allies, Michael Raymond, Partner at Travers Smith LLP, added a personal touch to the conversation. He described how important it is for allies to use their journey in supporting the community as an opportunity for education and self-reflection.

“It’s about building relationships based on trust,” said Michael. “And from a personal perspective, it's really an opportunity to grow and learn about ourselves, and about others. Building that confidence in communities as well and really getting that personal element.”

Camila Martinez, DEI Program Manager at Criteo, brought up the value of honesty and integrity in the workplace, in order to maintain a level of trust between employees. Instead of pretending to have certain views, be open and honest about your biases and lean into the idea of being educated about them.

“I think it's important for you to show up and also be honest about your challenges of course there's an education portion that you have to do on your own, but also come honestly and say this is where I stand with my values and also with my biases and my challenges. I think it's really important to come as you are. As honestly and as genuinely as you can be, so we can actually have a lasting impact.”

Marianne Blattes, Global D&I Manager at Kennedys Law Firm, focused on the different levels of allyship you can display, and wanted to put a spotlight on the big impact small actions can make. From changing email signatures to adapting legislation to be gender-inclusive, allyship is not just about social behavior but about adapting regulations.

“Sometimes, actually, small things can make a massive difference,” said Marianne. “I was trying to think of some sort of grand example, but actually, just something like crediting somebody for their work is immensely beneficial. At Kennedy's we've just done a big review of our parental leave policies, ensuring they’re gender neutral, removing the archaic maternity and paternity labels, and changing the language to co- parenting, and inserting pronouns in email signatures.”