Asian Women Rising with Allies
15 July 2022 was our third event in this series of Asian Women Rising.
Thanks to Xero and Rewired's sponsorship, we had a beautiful space with great food to share our stories and challenges as wahine Asian with a wider audience and to discuss true allyship. Although held on a Friday night, we challenged the concept of Friday night drinks because there was no alcohol involved and no awkward networking conversations. Instead, we sat in small groups with stickies and pens ready to hear stories and brainstorm allyship actions.
Some of the allies in the room were already well versed with the challenges that Asian women face in the workplace while others learnt about the extent and impact of these challenges. The wahine Asian who attended Asian Women Rising for the first time found solace in being validated, not being alone and learnt the power of speaking up in a safe space.
We came up with some concrete allyship actions as part of the group discussions:
When we come across a potentially racist comment, it is often helpful to ask the person who made the comment: "What do you mean?" as this gives them a chance to reflect upon what they have just said.
It is also important to name things for what they are, e.g. this is racism/sexism, as naming things will raise people's awareness. It is a matter of judgment when it is more appropriate to call out things vs asking a question like "Would you have said the same thing if I was a guy?"
Being a good ally means taking the time, doing the work to understand our own biases and be curious to listen to others' stories knowing that not everyone's experience of the workplace and world is the same.
Being a good ally also means recognising our positional power and using this power to address inequities. We might be a leader of a team or a facilitator of a meeting or an organiser of a network. We can all learn inclusive facilitation techniques to ensure everyone is heard. There is a lot to inclusive facilitation but this is a good starting point.
Consider being a mentor for someone else
Be aware of how job titles may not matter or mean anything to you but for someone with less privilege, their job titles can help others to take them seriously.
We also had a brilliant idea for our next event - we are going to create flash cards that will help us combat racist comments. We will look to do this event online and with partnership with other organisations that work in anti-racism. So watch this space!