Allyship Actually: Why it's 'We' and not 'Me' - Paperback

by David Barrow (Author), Lucy Grimwade (Author)

Allyship - All you ever wanted to know but never dared to ask

The Oxford Learner's Dictionaries defines allyship as:

"the state of being an ally (= a person who helps and supports somebody) to a particular group of people that you yourself do not belong to, in order to help ensure their basic rights and ability to be happy and successful in society."

This book exposes the systemic problems that arise from a patriarchal work culture, and centres on two IT professionals who have worked across multiple industries and see the same male dominance in each of them. Ultimately, the book will guide the reader to question and improve their own behaviours to act as allies to everyone, regardless of gender, self-identification, race or religion.

The authors review the process of applying for and starting a job, using case studies and their own experiences, as well as those of guest contributors, to demonstrate how people from marginalised communities need allies in the workplace to ensure they are treated equally and awarded the same opportunities as those from dominant social groups.

The authors invite and integrate the perspective of those people whose shoes they have never stepped in and intertwine their perspectives via personal stories.