"The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and the cruelty by the bad people, but the silence over that by good people" - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Now more than ever, diversity, equity and inclusion are the way forward.
The reason is that this is a primordial component of social sustainability.
What do you do about it?
Maybe you consider yourself as an ally.
Are you really?
Let's start by what an ally is not
Being an ally, is not a way to manage your perception so that your ego could feel better about everything that is wrong in the world.
But what is an ally?
As much as white abolitionists helped to stop slavery, feminist men will be key for more gender diversity and equality.
Lucretia Mott [1] Robert Baker [2]
Becoming an ally is the fundamental first step to be able to unlock the power of diversity in society, and organisations.
Allies align themselves with disadvantaged or oppressed groups and recognise the need for further progress in the journey towards equality.
Allies actively confront inequality in interpersonal interactions and intervene to address the structural and institutional dimensions of inequality.
Crucially, allies recognise their roles in potentially perpetuating the status quo.
Being an ally is living space for the invisible people to be visible.
What is a male ally?
Being a male ally means listening.
Listening and learning about the experience of diverse women every day.
Being a male ally means advocating for and being invested in the transformation, because your core values are aligned with it.
Being a male ally means speaking out...
Not for the women, but WITH the women.
Being an ally is just the first step, the simplest one, it is the space wherein the privileged began to accept the flawed dynamics that make for inequality.
What is a useful ally?
Being a useful and authentic ally is more difficult.
It’s not something you can jump into.
It is a journey.
You will make mistakes.
You will be out of your comfort zone, and you will fail.
But you will learn and stand because it is in your core values.
Being a useful ally implies not being afraid of uncomfortable conversations.
"To be white, or straight, or male, or middle class is to be ubiquitous and invisible. You’re everywhere you look, you’re the standard against which everyone else is measured. You are like water, like air.
People will tell you that they went to see a "woman doctor" or that they saw "the doctor." People will tell you that they have a "gay co-worker", or they will tell you about a "colleague". A white person will be happy to tell you about a "black friend", but when that same person simply mentions a "friend", everyone will assume the person is white.
Any college course that does not have the word "woman" or "gay" or "minority" in the tittle is, de facto, a course about men, heterosexuals, and white people. But we call those courses "literature", "history", or "political science".
The invisibility is political"
- Michael S. Kimmel
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