“Ally” is a popular word in the workplace these days as people seek to put action behind the pledges of racial justice and equality that many organizations have made. Often, people use the term allyship to refer to a general sense of support for marginalized groups. Yet the experience of marginalized groups in the workplace is not monolithic.
I’ve spent my career helping workplaces become more inclusive. With the hundreds of global clients I have worked with, there is one constant: People often want to change workplaces for the better but stop short of really wanting to do the hard, intentional work it takes. Part of this hard work is acknowledging that the experience of all marginalized groups is not the same—so you shouldn’t approach allyship as a one-size-fits-all endeavor. For example, the history and experiences of a transgender man in the workplace is not the same as those of someone with a disability, and thus showing up as an ally for each of these people should look different.
There is overwhelming evidence that one group in particular has it harder in the workplace: Black women. Malcolm X famously said: “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.” He wasn’t speaking about work specifically, but his words apply nevertheless. As Lean In’s 2020 “State of Black Women in Corporate America” report found, “Women are having a worse experience than men. Women of color are having a worse experience than white women. And Black women in particular are having the worst experience of all.”
Showing up as an ally for Black women requires an approach that takes into account the reality of their unique experiences—which, as the lawyer and scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw highlighted in her research on intersectionality, is different from that of Black men and white women. If you’re seeking to become an ally to Black women in the workplace, here’s how to get started.