Are We Even On the Same Side?: Pitfalls to Allyship

Abstract

In pursuing societal change, members of dominant groups are often called to act as allies to disadvantaged groups. Four talks highlight how and why such alliances are often fraught: prejudices leak from the allies’ words, groups differ in perceived harm, and coalition members’ motives are questioned. The first talk shows that Black Americans infer the underlying prejudices of Whites who declare themselves to be nonprejudiced and egalitarian, and that their interpersonal evaluations and behavioral trust are shaped by Whites’ underlying prejudice. The next talk examines a tendency of conservatives to see men as the true victims of the #MeToo movement, thereby inhibiting allyship. The third talk discusses how White coalition members (relative to racial minorities) may be perceived to have ulterior motives for allyship in interracial political coalitions, which influences observers' intentions to join such coalitions. The last talk investigates how organizational actors understand their own allyship efforts and how this affects the development of employee allyship programs in organizations. These talks highlight the complexity of cultivating and signaling allyship, noting potential pitfalls. It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it: Black Americans’ perceptions of White egalitarianism Presenter: Michael Rosenblum; NYU Stern School of Business Backlash against the #MeToo movement: Conservative Men as Failed Allies Presenter: Jaclyn Lisnek; U. of Virginia Perceptions of White Allies’ (Ulterior) Motives in Racially Diverse Political Coalitions Presenter: Michelle Lee; New York U. To Be an Ally or Not to Be? A Qualitative Exploration of Allyship Development at Work Presenter: Olivia Foster-Gimbel; New York U.