What Does Allyship Mean for Businesses in 2020
By Lily Cao
As we’re all learning and doing more about systemic racism, racial violence, and racial injustice in the United States and globally, we’ve also confronted the harsh reality that many of the brands we use in our daily lives contribute to the systems that perpetuate oppression i.e., the prison-industrial complex and unfair hiring and employment practices, which disadvantage Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). I’ve personally had to accept that certain products and businesses I’ve been ignorantly supporting and giving my money to are only created through the blood, sweat, and tears of underpaid minority workers or unregulated child labor.
We, as individuals, must do better, but we, especially Generation Z, are calling companies with huge platforms to also do better. And no, we’re not just talking about a black square on your Instagram or Twitter feed on #BlackoutTuesday, but we’re talking about genuine and authentic displays of allyship and putting your money (and resources) where your mouth is. We’re asking brands to stand alongside us and our Black peers, colleagues, friends, and family in this continuous fight for human rights and to help us keep up the momentum of this movement, not moment.
As a company trying to comprehend, digest, and act on all the information and advocacy right now, you’re probably wondering, what does this look like?
Allyship can take many forms. At the most basic level, allyship should not be optical and performative. What does this mean? First of all, as a company that serves people, including those who make up Generation Z, do more than just taking to social media and your website to release a statement on “recent events” or “everything happening in the world”. Acknowledge what is happening, call things for what they are (systemic racism, racial violence, racial injustice, white supremacy etc.), admit how you have contributed to systemic injustices, and dig deeper. Recently, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase kneeled with staff at one of the bank’s branches in the United States, following Colin Kaepernick’s stance. While this act demonstrated solidarity with the Black community, companies need to follow through with initiatives, social impact work, policies, and practices to actually build up Black-owned businesses, communities, and employees.
Ensure that your policies and the way they’re implemented reflect the statements you’ve rushed to issue recently on your commitment to fighting social injustice.
Be transparent about your hiring, promotion, and pay policies and ensure they reduce racial inequality and promote diversity and inclusion. Evaluate and then keep reevaluating whether changes in organizational policies and practices are needed and follow up with actionable steps. Live out your espoused values. Be proactive rather than reactive in your allyship. If your company is regularly and consistently doing allyship work and not making a huge performance of it, consumers will feel consistently positive about the authenticity and trustworthiness of your brand.
Generation Z consumers want to see brands using their social platforms to express allyship and circulate information, but only keeping your allyship to social channels generates the impression that your brand is “fake”. Although Generation Z is tech-savvy, we understand the future we covet requires putting down our phones, closing our laptops, and taking real actions to achieve social justice. Your company should be doing the same right by our side. Only then will we feel aligned with your brand and deem it authentic and truly people-first.
GenZ Designs recently hosted a company-wide ally training on Juneteenth that was organized into definitions of important terms, ways to be an ally, resources (to make donations, to self-educate, to have conversations with family and friends, and to support Black-owned businesses), and sustainable methods of allyship.
As a brand consulting agency made up of GenZ-ers, we urge your company, brand, and constituents to do more as allies of the Black Lives Matter movement. Start with organizing your own ally training, keeping up with new information, speaking out against, and dismantling systemic racism on the regular. An ally’s work is never done; you must make a lifelong commitment, and if you want to avoid performative allyship, know that…