Providing healing, promoting hope: Allyship in action

Given the past two years, our team at WOMEN Unlimited has been struck by the power and immediacy of the theme for this year’s Women’s History Month: Providing Healing. Promoting Hope. As we work with talented women, their managers and their mentors, we see this kind of allyship play out time and again. Repeatedly, it offers needed guidance and support to female talent both in the workplace and beyond.

Our experiences and the theme of this year’s Women’s History Month inspired us to reach out to learn how our community of women allies have offered hope and healing, and how they received it.

Below are five inspiring examples of the kinds of allies we encountered. 

Fully aware of the stress and isolation that the pandemic was placing on women and the potential toll on their careers, one female leader offered hope and healing by hosting and facilitating round tables for women. Under her leadership, the round tables provided a safe space for women to “speak up, share challenges and look for advice.” She says she is “amazed and energized by how powerful connecting with others has been for those who joined.”

The pressure and emotional toll on those who work in the veterinary field has never been higher than during the pandemic, reports one high-ranking veterinary doctor we spoke to at a leading veterinary care and research organization. To support her fellow veterinarians and veterinary staff, she took classes to become a certified compassion fatigue professional. She then used the training to help veterinary professionals combat compassion fatigue and burnout. She continues to act as an ally and leverage her training. The feedback she receives proves her efforts are of critical importance.

Another woman we spoke with, an IT program director, is especially grateful to a colleague of her brother’s who helped the program director’s teenage daughter deal with on-going mental health issues. She was especially empathetic, having herself suffered from mental illness and suicidal thoughts as a young adult. Encouraged by this confidence-building ally, the teenager started a chapter of The Gray Matters in her high school to raise awareness of mental health issues.She serves as its president and is a vocal advocate for removing the stigma around mental health. Her mother reports her daughter is “out of the dark,” thanks to “support, leadership and empathy. For all of us, it is a great example of an ally.”

A leader in a major organization servicing the life science and biopharma industries told us about how she took a three-pronged approach to helping her employees, customers and community: For starters, she was experienced in working remotely, she actively helped others adapt to and feel comfortable with technology. (Second, she was also able to offer new career opportunities in a remote environment. Finally, she co-created an online innovation program to help smaller businesses pivot to digital marketing. She says she has found it “empowering to be part of a bigger story.”

A chief of staff at a Fortune 500 company we spoke with takes great pride in her approach to allyship, which is focused on advancing the conversation around racism and injustice in her organization. In 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, a Black colleague reached out to her wanting to speak to the leadership team about “the experiences of Black people.” Her colleague’s courage and poise in sharing both difficult and uplifting stories resulted in her being invited to hold discussions with other teams. Recently, one of her sessions focusing on how to address systemic racism was attended by more than 150 employees. The chief of staff says she “was glad [she] provided her with the opportunity she was seeking. Not only is she making her voice heard, she is also creating a space for others to share their stories and ideas.”

There’s so much in these stories from our allies that inspire hope and healing. What speaks most to me is that while compassion and allyship are rightfully celebrated in Women’s History Month, they are thankfully not confined to it.