Fundamentals of Effective Allyship

We’re all a part of the tech community. Unfortunately, we often fail to reflect on what that means and what responsibilities it conveys for us as individuals. It's easy to assume the status quo cannot be challenged at the individual level, or get paralysed trying to search for ways on how to do so.

This talk offers actionable steps for practising proactive, intersectional allyship that any member of the community can and should take on.

Presented at Tech Inclusion Melbourne.

Transcript

1. Fundamentals of effective allyship Presented by @fox
2. The accountability for the future starts with every one of us.
3. No more being complicit.
4. Being an ally is an ongoing process of unlearning, re-evaluating and challenging the oppressive status quo.
5. Understand privilege №1
6. Privilege is the opposite of oppression, but the two can coexist.
7. Recognise, identify and act on the privilege you have.
8. Ignorance is part of the oppression. Being complicit is lending a helpful hand to structural inequality.
9. Amplify and empower №2
10. Amplify voices of those without privilege and facing oppression.
11. Give up power to women of colour, people with disabilities, indigenous people, LGBTQIA community.
12. Hold yourself accountable №3
13. Learning how to deal with mistakes is one of the foundations of allyship.
14. We need to own up to our wrongdoing and take steps to prevent it from happening in the future.
15. Prioritise impact over intent №4
16. Intent of our actions doesn’t matter if the result is furthering exclusion and oppression.
17. Diversity and inclusion lip-service has to end. Measure the success through qualitative, positive results. This is not a marketing effort.
18. Focus on intersectionality №5
19. Intersectionality* is the answer to most common pitfalls of feminism, highlighting how different forms of discrimination can overlap. (* Coined by an excellent critical race theorist, Kimberlé Crenshaw.)
20. Understand multiple dimensions of injustice. Interpreting diversity through the lens of whiteness is a failure of allyship.
21. 1. Understand privilege 2. Amplify and empower 3. Hold yourself accountable 4. Prioritise impact over intent 5. Focus on intersectionality
22. To dismantle systems of oppression, it’s necessary to understand our role within them and take preventive measures.
23. Thank you Slides: https://speakerdeck.com/fox/fundamentals-of-effective-allyship Transcript: medium.com/@fox/fundamentals-of-effective-allyship-468bd0afe89b Questions and feedback: @fox on Twitter, in person or hi@thefox.is