Systems Level Allyship

By: Michael Leslie Amilcar

As a person who seeks to ensure an equitable and just world for all, I am deeply committed to contributing toward a world that is safe and affirming for all persons.?Often when we think about allyship, it can have a very individualistic focus. For instance, "what can I do to help this person/community?", but allyship is so much more. Be Equitable defines allyship as a commitment – demonstrated through action – to earn trust, support, and amplify the voices of people from diverse backgrounds. With this understanding at its core, we believe that allyship can take on many forms and the systems level of allyship is an opportunity for even greater impact.?

ALLYSHIP: A commitment – demonstrated through action – to earn trust, support, and amplify the voices of people from diverse backgrounds.

This level of allyship is about using your power and influence to impact change at a systems level. We want to pay close attention to the communities that experience harm, oppression, and marginalization in our society, and do our part to not carry that over into the workplace. Pride month provides an opportunity for organizations to examine and reassess the ways they are ensuring the issues, concerns, and needs of LGBTQ+ employees are heard and addressed. The opportunity for systems level allyship is apparent. Using data ethically can initiate change and significantly impact people’s livelihoods.

Surveys provide a great opportunity to hear directly from LGBTQ+ employees who can often identify areas for improvement thereby gaining greater understanding of how policies, initiatives, and programs may be impacting members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Unfortunately, many companies still struggle with collecting data regarding LGBTQ+ identity for a range of reasons including low levels of trust within workplace cultures, existing limitations within HR technology systems as well as the reality that the landscape globally poses great risk for those who are out as LGBTQ+ persons in certain geographic areas.?

As the size and diversity of LGBTQ+ populations continue to expand, particularly among young professionals entering the workforce, the importance of assessing this data will continue to grow. Failure to collect specific data on LGBTQ+ employees can perpetuate harm by failing to bring visibility to the needs, concerns, and experiences of this community.??Proper data collection can identify where gaps exist in representation, employee experience, and program effectiveness that can best serve LGBTQ+ employees is critical to ensuring equitable outcomes are achieved.? It is all of our responsibility to ensure that our workplaces are safe and affirming for LGTBQ+ persons.

"It is all of our responsibility to ensire that our workplaces are safe and affirming for LGBTQ+ persons."

Let's take the important step to become better informed on inclusive and ethical data surveying and collection practices so we can powerfully A.C.T. to build greater trust and accountability with LGBTQ+ communities inside our workplaces. Links to a few helpful resources can be found in the comments section.

Resources:

1. Human Rights Campaign - An Employer Guide To LGBTQ+ Inclusive Self-Identification
2. Out & Equal - Global Toolkit for Change: Assessing LGBTQI+ Inclusion in Your Workplace
3. Out Leadership - Visibility Counts: Corporate Guidelines for LGBT+ Self-ID
4. PFLAG National – LGBTQ+ Glossary
5. Center for American Progress – Collecting Data About LGBTQI+ and Other Sexual and Gender-Diverse Communities
6. Be Equitable - LGBTQ+ Organizational Assessment

If you would like to learn more about activating equity and inclusion within your organization Be Equitable would love to partner. Reach out to us at [email protected] or visit our website be-equitable.com to learn more.