Journal Article

(Conditionally) Supporting polycultural organizations through bidirectional allyship

Brown, Shanique G., Bueno, Aylime

2023

Overview

Given this, we expand on this focal article by discussing how bidirectional allyship aligns with and diverges from the principles of polyculturalism—namely, its increased emphasis on the interconnectedness of cultures and decreased emphasis on cultural differences—as well as how this kind of allyship can serve as a mechanism through which polycultural organizations can be constructed, supported, and fortified. Bidirectional allyship Bidirectional allyship encapsulates how different social groups, of varying privilege and marginalization, may aid one another in fighting for justice and the rights of their own and each other’s interrelated communities (e.g., Black heterosexual females and cisgender White gay males; Scaramuzzo et al., 2021). The theoretical framework of intersectionality allows for the conceptualization of the relationship between multiple social identities that reflect one’s unique positionality within the interwoven systems of power, unearned privilege, and disadvantage (Carastathis, 2014; Crenshaw, 1989). Even though individual ERGs have their own mission statements and strategies, members of different ERGs may intentionally form these unilateral support systems based on shared experiences of identity-based marginalization to push forth necessary changes to workplace policy and practices, increase fairness across groups, and amplify each group’s voice

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Subject: Cisgender / Commentaries / Cultural differences / Diversity training / Employee resource groups / Employees / Hispanic Americans / Inclusion / Intersectionality / Multiculturalism & pluralism / Power / Social exclusion / Socialization