Allyship Case Study 5

In our team, we’re very lucky that we don’t have people abusing positions of power. However, I have heard, anecdotally, from members of my team that they have been in university meetings and unacceptable language has been used. I’m very lucky not to have witnessed many cases of this myself. 

If anyone was being disrespectful, I would call them out, no matter who they are; I would stop that behaviour from happening. I’m often in an authoritative position, and I make sure to treat everyone equally. I believe everyone deserves to contribute their opinions, and I wouldn’t allow for discrimination of any kind. 

I do feel I’m still learning, and there’s more I could do. 

I used to live in London and I remember witnessing a woman being harassed on the tube. A number of people stood up, got involved and stopped the man. I didn’t intervene and have regretted it since. 

Shortly after that, I was at a concert and saw a member of staff looking upset. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me about some customers who were mistreating her, so I went and got the security guards to help her. 

I have to ask: does not causing harm to others make you an ally, or is it just basic human decency? 

Question people’s behaviours rather than aggressively calling them out, they are more likely to listen that way. 

It’s difficult to speak out in those situations sometimes and people do fail. What’s important is that you recognise people fail and you can learn from these situations and your mistakes. 

It’s not just growth; you can’t just move forward. It’s contextual and it’s harder to take action in some situations than others.  

Everyone can be better.