Underrepresented and marginalized communities have been impacted by bias and discrimination and want equity, inclusion, and belonging in their workspaces. Allyship is needed to help right wrongs, highlight inequities, provide opportunities, and to foster inclusive environments.

Being effective on your allyship journey requires a lot of effort. Becoming an ally requires self-education, self-awareness, and the understanding that you have to address bias and provide access to spaces and power that you possess both individually and within institutions.

This is uncomfortable work, but discomfort is often required to create impactful change. My therapist often reminds me that “Growth begins where comfort ends”. If your notion of allyship is only being an ally when it is comfortable or only done in a performative manner with buttons, t-shirts, and social media posts, then you still have a lot of work to do if you want to be an effective ally.