DeepSummary
In this episode, Jennifer Brown and Adrienne Lawrence discuss the disconnect between how white women perceive their support for black women and how black women actually experience that allyship. They share eye-opening statistics, like 80% of white women see themselves as allies to black women, but only 10% of black women say their strongest allies are white women. They explore reasons for this gap, including white women's fear of getting it wrong, a scarcity mindset, and a need for perfectionism.
Lawrence emphasizes the daily racism and microaggressions that 45% of black women face in their professional lives, which leads 97% to feel uncomfortable returning to the office post-COVID. She urges white women to use their privilege to interrupt bias, create opportunities, and make meaningful change. Brown stresses the need for persistent, authentic allyship regardless of the response, and encourages an abundance mentality.
The conversation highlights the work still needed to bridge the allyship gap. Brown and Lawrence call on white women to have candid discussions, educate themselves on others' experiences, take proactive steps to uplift marginalized voices, and push past their discomfort to be true allies.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- There is a significant 'allyship gap' between how white women perceive themselves as allies to women of color versus how women of color experience their allyship.
- Black women face pervasive racism, microaggressions and oppression in the workplace, which impacts their ability to thrive professionally.
- White women need to use their privilege to be proactive allies - speaking up, interrupting bias, creating opportunities for marginalized voices.
- Authentic allyship requires pushing past fears of imperfection, embracing discomfort, and taking consistent action regardless of the response.
- An abundance mentality is critical for allyship, moving past scarcity thinking to truly uplift and create space for others.
- Vulnerability, humility and publicly owning mistakes are part of the ally journey of continued learning.
- Senior leaders have a key role in modeling authentic allyship and shifting workplaces to be more inclusive by using their influence.
- Candid cross-race dialogue and education on others' lived experiences is crucial for progressing racial equity in organizations.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “And so being able to discuss these things to look at, why is it that of those supposed allies, only 39% are confronting racial discrimination? And why is it that only 21% who say they are allies to black women are advocating for new opportunities for women of color?“ by Adrienne Lawrence
- “You can use your voice to make change because you're going to be in a lot of spaces that I'm not in. You can open doors, you can essentially create opportunities where we'd otherwise essentially be excluded simply because of our melanin count.“ by Adrienne Lawrence
- “It's exhausting. And it's also one of the reasons why I left corporate America for a period of time, because all it could offer me was oppression.“ by Adrienne Lawrence
- “I think perfectionism really gets in all of our ways. You know, certainly all women of all identities can relate to this, but I think the more intersectional your identities, the more perhaps, you know, perfectionism, again, is that survival mechanism.“ by Jennifer Brown
Entities
Company
Person
Book
Product
Episode Information
The Will To Change: Uncovering True Stories of Diversity & Inclusion
Jennifer Brown
11/5/21
This episode features a conversation between Adrienne Lawrence, JBC Sr. Consultant, and Jennifer Brown, as they discuss why is there such a disconnect between how white women view their support and how black women are experiencing it. Discover why white women are often afraid of stepping up to be an ally, and what white women can do to bridge the allyship gap by 2031.