mentorship, sponsorship or allyship?

June, the Pride Month is just around the corner and that’s when we tend to speak a lot about allyship.

Today I’m sharing about three “ships” and how one can be a supporter of people from underrepresented and historically disadvantaged groups.

Allyship is something that doesn’t require organizational position, knowledge or status.

It needs the recognition of one’s privilege and using it to support and advocate for someone who doesn’t share a key part of our identity.

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆.

But it may not be the sufficient choice for specific needs of an individual from an underrepresented group, especially when we look at those needs with an intersectional lens.

Allyship can and should be combined to be more effective with other “ships”.

How to choose which "-ship" is a good choice?

🔹 Ask how you can be best of support to specific individuals keeping the 3 ships in mind

🔹 Analyze your position in the organization and your status to see what is your leverage potential

🔹 Reflect on your privilege and actively search for opportunities to use it

Source of inspiration: V. Mattingly, S. Grice, A. Goldstein “Inclusalytics”