Black History Month is coming to an end, but our work is far from finished.
Ending systemic racism and sexism, and creating equitable workplaces requires active participation and commitment from everyone.
Allyship is not about ‘helping women’ or ‘supporting BIPOC’. It’s about coming together to build a better system that benefits everyone; we all rise with the tide.
It’s recognizing that certain groups face unfair disadvantages and barriers, and it’s seeing all the subtle ways they are sidelined or excluded because of their gender, the colour of their skin or a combination of intersectionalities.
Here are 3 steps to kickstart your Allyship today:
- Commit: Allyship begins with a commitment. Become a WCM Ally Member; it’s a powerful vote for equity, diversity and change. And it’s a great way for you to access resources and education on your Allyship journey.
- Learn: Effective allyship requires education and awareness. The first step to being an ally is understanding how inequity works so that you can recognize it and change it.
- Act: Allyship is not a passive term. It is an active, engaged practice of equity and inclusion, dismantling inequities, injustice and exclusion. It can be as simple as your choice of language.
In 2020, WCM and CAUFP hosted Black on Bay, a conversation featuring four incredible Black leaders who shared their insights on what industry, corporate, and individual actions we can all take to move towards greater equity, diversity, and inclusion. What the past few months have shown is that collectively, we can make the commitments we need to bring about change. It begins with realizing that to be anti-racist is a choice.
Creating equitable workplaces requires your active participation.
If there's anything you would like to see from us in order to better champion this movement, please contact us at [email protected].
