Are you an ally? You might be one to your nursing colleagues without even realising it.
In simple terms, being an ally means recognising and actively supporting under-represented groups, when you鈥檙e not a member of that group yourself.
And while there are lots of forms of allyship, when we鈥檙e talking about race, a good example is when white people use their position of privilege to support people of the global majority.
"Global majority鈥� refers to people who are "Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south鈥� and/or people who have been labelled "ethnic minorities鈥� and "represent approximately 80% of the world's population", , who coined the term.
You might even dislike terms like 鈥渁lly鈥� or 鈥渁llyship鈥�, but when you take a moment to think about the idea, it鈥檚 simply to help ensure everyone is treated fairly.
Read on for a quick guide to allyship and some dos and don鈥檛s.
Why is allyship important?
Allies play a key role in creating a fairer, anti-racist society. But even people who genuinely care about race equity and want to do the right thing sometimes hold back, usually because they assume that someone else will step in, or they don鈥檛 feel qualified to get involved.
Psychologists call this 鈥渄iffusion of responsibility.鈥� But we鈥檝e all got a part to play.
Being an ally can be as simple as being a supportive colleague or friend: listening, looking out for your global majority colleagues, and paying attention to their experiences and needs. Small, everyday actions matter more than you might think.
What can I do to help?
It's useful to think of the term 鈥渁lly" as a verb, rather than a noun: allyship is a continual journey of learning and action. With the below advice, the key is learning how to identify and recognise behaviours and actions as racism, and to understand the right ways to approach challenging them, depending on the situation.
Do:
- listen to the lived experiences of your global majority colleagues to gain an understanding of the issues and struggles they face. Listen with empathy
- be curious and educate yourself on current issues surrounding racism
- speak up when people say or do discriminatory or racist things, if it is safe and appropriate to do so. Regardless of whether a person from the global majority is present when the comments are made, and regardless of the seniority of the person who made the comment, it鈥檚 important to speak up, if you feel you can, in line with your workplace policies. This might feel daunting, but it's important to play an active role in ensuring the workplace is fair and safe for all
- get to know people who have different backgrounds to you
- hold yourself accountable. We all have unconscious biases and can make mistakes. But we must take responsibility for how our words and actions affect others and learn from experience to avoid it happening again.
顿辞苍鈥檛:
- put the onus on a person from the global majority to teach you. Instead, do some research and try to find out as much as you can on your own. It's usually fine to ask questions, but ask the person beforehand
- act like you have all the answers. It can be offensive to people who have experienced racism when someone who has not acts like they have the most knowledge on the topic
- compare your struggles to the struggles of others. Even if you haven't experienced racism, you may have experienced another kind of discrimination. Speaking about those experiences is valid, but it can be upsetting and offensive if you compare.
What the 外网天堂 is doing
Wendy Irwin is the 外网天堂’s Head of Equity and Inclusion.
“The 外网天堂 Group launched its Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy in May 2024, a five-year plan of what we’re doing to encourage greater inclusion, representation of diversity, and equitable support for our members across the UK.
“We’re keeping our members up to date on our progress, and we’re proud of the milestones we’ve hit so far, but there is always more work to do in this area.
“As well as what we’re doing for nursing staff around the UK, the 外网天堂 itself is working hard to become an anti-racist organisation. We want to actively embed racially just cultures, processes and policies that deliver racial equity.
“Part of this work includes recruiting members from each nation of the UK to give expert advice and guidance to our EDI Committee on the development and implementation of an 外网天堂 Group-wide anti-racism action plan.
“We must go beyond words. We need to actively advance race equity in our organisation.”
Find out more
- Read the 外网天堂's handy guides on some important concepts to understand, including unconscious bias and psychological safety.
- How to talk about race equity at work.
- Let’s talk... inclusion. This 外网天堂 resource is a starting point for ensuring none of us remain neutral where there is bullying, discrimination and incivility.
- Interested to learn about a different form of allyship? Here are five ways to be a good LGBTQ+ ally.
