Going beyond good colleagues: Men’s and women’s perspectives on allyship behaviors toward women faculty in male-dominated disciplines in academia.

Abstract

Allyship is increasingly viewed as a crucial practice to address social and economic inequities faced by marginalized groups. However, little research explores how dominant group members can behave as allies and what marginalized group individuals consider as valuable. Research shows that women faculty in male-dominated academic disciplines regularly experience gendered microaggressions and sexism. In this study, using qualitative narratives from 202 women and men faculty in male-dominated academic departments, we explore women's experiences as recipients of allyship, and men's experiences engaging in allyship. Further, we compare narratives about and from men considered 'good colleagues' versus 'exceptional allies.'The findings reveal that good colleagues engage in an array of interpersonally supportive allyship behaviors (e.g., active listening). In contrast, exceptional allies go beyond them by undertaking consequential and conspicuous actions on behalf of women (e.g., impression promotion), a set of behaviors we term as visible advocacy. By exploring the range of allyship behaviors engaged in by men and viewed by women as valuable, we highlight implications for literature on gender equity and allyship. This study carries practical implications for men who desire to become better allies to women.

Should I “check my emotions at the door” or express how I feel? Role of emotion regulation versus expression of male leaders speaking out against sexism in the workplace

“…We, therefore, caution against wanton unleashing of anger and recommend that leaders have an appropriately measured emotional response. Moreover, if organizational culture is already prone to extreme calls for punishment (e.g., toxic culture, low psychological safety), we suggest that leaders of such organizations look to alternative allyship strategies that are impactful for victims and for achieving the goals of equity and inclusion, yet circumvent the negative side effects of anger‐based confrontations (for a range of nonconfrontational allyship strategies, see Warren & Bordoloi, 2021; Warren, Sekhon, & Waldrop, 2022).…”

“…In particular, discrimination against pregnant women and mothers is among the most crippling barriers to women's career advancement (e.g., Crosby et al, 2004). Male allies in the workplace who witness prejudice and intervene as bystanders (Cheng et al, 2019; Madsen et al, 2019) have considerable potential to improve outcomes for women and mothers (Warren & Bordoloi, 2021; Warren, Bordoloi & Warren, 2021). As men disproportionately hold positions of power and leadership, they may be able to leverage their male privilege (Warren, Bordoloi & Warren, 2021) as well as their authority as leaders to enact allyship.…”

So you think you are an ally? Effects of (in)congruence between men's self‐perceptions and women's perceptions of men's values and allyship on women's inclusion and vitality

“…Only in the last 15 years, have management scholars been urged to explore how men can be engaged in gender equity efforts (Bilimoria et al, 2008; Joshi et al, 2015). Recently, empirical studies have constructed allyship primarily as a set of behaviours, strategies or practices, for example ally's behaviours involving acquisition of knowledge, communication and prosocial action (Salter & Migliaccio, 2019), ally's strategies constituting visible advocacy and provision of interpersonal support (Warren & Bordoloi, 2021), and ally's reflexive practices of leveraging their power and privilege and interrupting the status quo through prosocial behaviours (Erskine & Bilimoria, 2019). An exception is the construction of allyship motivation and sustained development of the ally as being rooted in the ally's values and virtues (Warren & Warren, 2021).…”

“…Given a long history of patriarchy which has been systematically created for, endorsed by, and benefitted men, women may have a baseline level of distrust of men's intentions around male allyship (Bennett, 2006). Thus, without concrete, contradictory evidence (e.g., via men's visible actions; see Warren & Bordoloi, 2021), women may dismiss men's self‐labels of allyship as performative (Hesford, 2021). If men fail in or are incompetent at their fledgling allyship efforts (Cha et al, 2020), women may feel betrayed and disappointed (Warren & Bordoloi, 2022).…”

“…Since the 2014 launch of the UN Women HeForShe campaign, over 2.27 million individuals globally have made a commitment to gender equality on their social media platform; an action that the campaign's website recognizes only takes 10 s. Although such wide interest is promising and possibly an important first step towards allyship, applying a self‐adhesive label alone may be inadequate. Instead, cultivating allyship‐relevant values and skills is foundational to being a true ally, if one is to contribute to generating a sense of inclusion and vitality for women colleagues (Warren & Bordoloi, 2021; Warren & Warren, 2021).…”