The Complexity of Allyship: Adding Nuance to the Allyship Process

Abstract: As workplaces continue to grapple with persistent inequities, understanding factors that foster progress in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is critical. Allyship, the active engagement of advantaged group members in supporting marginalized groups, has emerged as a pivotal component of these efforts. Allyship is a complex, multifaceted process that researchers have focused on different aspects of, including how allies (advantaged group members) provide support to targets (marginalized group members), along with the perceptions and outcomes of this allyship engagement. This symposium looks to extend current understanding around the process of allyship. First, Presentations 1 and 2 (Alaaldin et al, and Lam & Hideg) add nuance to understanding of how allies provide support to targets. Specifically, Alaaldin and colleagues challenge the assumption that allies can intuitively learn how to best support beneficiaries to show the work required for relational understanding. Lam & Hideg meanwhile apply an intersectional lens to investigate whether men may provide different types of allyship to women of different racioethnic backgrounds based on prototypicality perceptions. Next, Presentations 3 and 4 (Schittek & Moore and Born & Bowles) extend our understanding of perceptions and outcomes of allyship engagement. Specifically, Schittek & Moore provide insight into factors affecting perceived allyship motivations. Fourth, Born & Bowles demonstrate how receiving allyship may affect women's performance, particularly their negotiation behaviors. Featuring an international selection of researchers employing diverse methodologies, these four papers overall provide nuance to allyship research.

Keywords: Allyship; DEI; Intergroup Contact