Allyship-in-action: 3 ways you can support women in the workplace

When it comes to creating gender-equitable workplaces, true allyship happens when you make structural changes that actively address power imbalances and intentionally share power.

Acknowledging your own privilege and power (be it your whiteness, your gender, your sexuality, your socio-economic background, your personality type, your mental and physical health, if you have a disability, if you have caring responsibilities, your age ect) is only the first step.

There are ways several ways you can intentionally share power and this can be done at every level of an organisation, from new joiners and managers to the CEO and board.

This International Women's Day (8th March) I would encourage individuals and organisations to educate themselves on the types of structural changes they can make.

Below are a few examples of this in action:

1. Women amplifying women?during Obama's presidency

"When Obama took office, two-thirds of his top aides were men.?

Women complained of having to elbow their way into important meetings. And when they got in, their voices were sometimes ignored.?

So female staffers adopted a meeting strategy they called “amplification”: When a woman made a key point, other women would repeat it, giving credit to its author. This forced the men in the room to recognise the contribution — and denied them the chance to claim the idea as their own."

Juliet Eilperin in the Washington Post explanation of one tactic used by female aides in Obama's administration.

2. Village Capital mitigating bias through design interventions?

US-based social impact accelerator Village Capital seeks to mitigate bias in the funding process by giving entrepreneurs within its cohorts the power to decide which ideas should receive investment.?

This approach has proven to be a stronger predictor of future revenue and capital raised than conventional impact investment funds where a small group of people decide which companies receive funding.

It also has lower gender and race bias and greater transparency than traditional models with 42% of Village Capital’s ventures run by female founders and 29% having founders of colour.

3. Co-housing co-design - creating something with people, not for them

Co-design is about working with a particular community or group of people with lived experience as active participants in the design process, to create shared value and ensure that the end product meets their needs.?

It’s all about designing and creating something with people, drawing on their unique perspectives and understanding. It’s all about acknowledging that we don’t have all the answers, but that we stand a much better chance of creating an effective solution if we actively listen to the experiences of the people we are creating things for.

One of the best-known examples of both community-led housing and co-design in London is Older Women’s Cohousing in Barnet. The development was led by a group of 20 older women, who wanted an alternative to living alone so built their own neighbourhood by collaborating with local authorities, housing associations and architects.

Are there any other examples you would add? Please share them in the comments below.

This article was written by Emily Horton, the founder of the inclusive communication agency?More Diverse Voices .

Over the past 8 years she has supported charities, think tanks, policymakers, investors, and fast-growth tech companies find their voice. She has helped craft thought leadership pieces, reports, press releases, social media campaigns and pitched stories to the press.?

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