VIDEO: Actions for Allies in the Workplace
Welcome back to more videos from A Course in Production! Starting us off for the spring series: 6 ways you can practice being an ally at work
Today I want discuss 6 ways that you can practice being an ally at work, particularly if you are white and/or identify as a man. I hope to offer a range of suggestions so that whether you’re an artist or a CEO, you will have a solid action you can do almost immediately to support women and minorities in your workplace.
I should emphasize that these suggestions are based on my own experiences* or things I have witnessed at work and greatly appreciated, they are not necessarily a one-size-fits-all practices .
*I am mixed-race, cis woman, heterosexual, enabled, thin, and university-educated
If you’re not familiar with the term “ally” or unaware of racial and/or gender-based discrimination in the workplace, I will leave some resources in the transcript for this video [see end of this post!] where you can learn more about inequalities in the workplace as I’m neither prepared nor qualified to speak to these issues in these short videos I make.
First, I want to talk about ways I have personally experienced support from allies in the workplace.
1. Recommend women and minorities for roles and promotions
There have been a few times in my career, regardless of industry, where someone has recommended me for a promotion or role without me asking them to do so and it made a positive difference in my career.
I have really appreciated this because to my mind it is a compliment that someone not only recognizes the work I’m doing, but that they would go out of their way to make sure the person who makes major hiring decisions or controls the budget knows about it.
If your workplace is hiring or in the process of promoting from within, recommend and support the work of women and minorities, particularly if your workplace is rather homogenous (for example, if everyone on your team is white or everyone in charge of big decisions is male).
If you are putting together a crack team for something like a test project and the boss asks you who should be on it, if you think this would give a woman or minority a chance to shine, say so.
RECAP: Recommend women and minorities for roles and promotions
- External hiring
- Internal hiring and promotions
- Smaller teams like test projects or committees (NOT the social events committee)
This is especially important if your workplace is not diverse or there are no women in charge of major decisions or projects.
2. Be a reference or give a recommendation
Connected to the previous point, I have also really appreciated instances where people offer to be my reference or given me a recommendation on LinkedIn without my asking.
While I’m confident in my abilities and skills, I also still feel a little awkward asking for something for myself because I know people are busy, they don’t like writing, or talking on the phone to reference checkers. Maybe this is just me, and whenever someone offers to be my reference I really, really appreciate it and it goes a long way.
3. Give educational opportunities or resources
I have experienced this in a few ways. The first example is of professional development opportunities. At my last studio, for example, leaders thoughtfully considered and provided free professional development opportunities by bringing in speakers at lunch to give workshops.
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| Above: 3/4 books pictured above are from my father-in-law! |
Second, I have received actual physical resources. Very recently, my own father-in-law gave me a stack of career development books to read. He had read these as part of a book club at his own work in an industry completely different from mine. He knows I am always keen to push myself to become a better leader and so these books are a great resource for me.
Lastly, a huge way I have been supported by allies is through mentorship. This can look like a 40 minute informational interview where I pepper them with questions, it has also looked like an extra 10 minutes after dailies to draw something on the whiteboard so I can better understand what X concept is. It has even been as brief as showing me a couple of hotkeys quickly.
RECAP: Give educational opportunities or resources
- Professional development or training opportunities (ex, workshops)
- Give or loan books/educational resources, access to different softwares, lend equipment
- If you are an exec, consider sponsoring a professional award or scholarship!
- Mentorship
- Information interviews
- Quick explanations
- Shortcuts and best practices
Now, for the second part of the video, I want to share a few ways I have witnessed support from allies that was effective, particularly from my perspective as a manager.
4. Let someone else do the talking
Another thing I’ve seen is sticking up for people in meetings or gently refereeing for a second. It can be as simple as “Sorry John, I think Jane was about to say something. Jane, go ahead.”
RECAP: Let someone else do the talking
- Stick up for people in meetings
- Don’t interrupt or ‘mansplain’
- Referee as needed
5. Listen
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| Above: from Career Contessa! |
Connected to the previous suggestion, once you open up the floor, listen. Hear people out. Give them space to share. Listening to someone builds trust and shows you value their thoughts.
I find listening also creates a nice domino effect - if you do this, others are likely to follow, and suddenly, someone who was ‘just’ PA gets a chance to exercise their leadership skills.
6. Give credit where credit is due
If you are impressed by the work of a woman or minority, say so aloud to other people in the room, particularly if there people who are in charge of decisions like promotions and raises. I’ve been in managerial roles for the majority of the last 6 years or so, and believe me, it goes a long way just to get someone’s name out there.
- An example that I’ve seen of this was in dailies where my superiors were present and one of the supervisors in the room was looking at a shot and said: “That Jane sure knows her cameras, you can always tell when its one of her shots.”
- Just a simple compliment to raise awareness of her work and skills that had a big, positive ripple effect.
If you are inaccurately or partially credited for the work of someone else, especially if its the work of a woman or minority, make the correction and clearly state who is the talent behind the shot you are seeing or report you are reviewing. It’s the integrity move and is a small, effective way of supporting folks in your workplace.
RESOURCES
Read This to Get Smarter: About Race, Class, Gender, Disability & More by Blair Imani
7 Examples of What Being an Ally at Work Really Looks Like by Better Allies on The Muse
What is Intersectionality? Why is it Important? video by Blair Imani
How I Learned about White Privilege
The Collective Bunch Society - The Collective Bunch Society is a for-impact (non-profit) community of above and below the line crews and creatives working in screen-based industries who identify as Indigenous, Black, People of Color and 2SLGBTQIA+. Used by producers, production managers, development executives, and broadcasters who are looking to invest in diverse talent.
What is "The Wage Gap" video by Blair Imani
OBSIDI - The platform for Black tech professionals and allies
BPTN - Black Professionals in Tech Network
VIDEO: The Importance of Listening at Work
