Alice's gender and science session: How can we be allies?

Gender and science session - Alice, Zuska, and Abel

Non-chronological note-taking from a great session.

What is an ally? How do you become an ally?
You can be an ally for any oppressed group. (http://partnersinchange.umich.edu/page1_2.html)
Be an ally all the time, not just in front of the person to whom you are allied. (Zuska)
There is point of no return. A crystallizing experience, that crosses a threshold, where they can't go back to not caring. But you can't tell (from looking or listening) who has crossed the threshold and whether you can count on them all the time. (Janet)
Being an ally is a process. You won't get everything right, right away. We're all going to mistakes. (Alice and Zuska)
Sometimes allies need a kick in the pants. Allies need continuing education (post on Abel's blog)

Being a good ally
I offered that as an ally we need to listen reflectively to the reaction or feedback we get when we think we are being good allies. How is our advice being received? Is that what was needed? What can we do better?

Zuska - try to avoid the reflex to defend yourself as a "good person" when someone calls you out on not being a good ally.

Abel offered the advice from his HR office: "If you know about these actions (hostile work environment, etc.), and you don't do anything about it, you are being complicit in making these options."

These people who offer insider knowledge (as advice you should follow) about the status quo are in a way reinforcing it and reifying it. (Alice)

(acmegirl) If you are really going to be an ally for a group, you have to be willing to live with the discomfort that creates. Remember that your discomfort is temporary, and that of the other group is all the time.

(Alice) Part of her research as part of the ADVANCE grant is to understand how to advance women of color in STEM disciplines. How to do that in a way that minimizes the additional burden on the women of color that are educating her about their issues? (Abel) Underrepresented groups are burdened by needint to educate their allies. So, as allies, we need to take it upon ourselves to learn about the issues (e.g., Feminism 101 blog).

Power dynamics
Allies and a question of power dynamics. Challenging professors or people in power/authority over you.
The issue of power dynamics is not just between grads and faculty, but also within the faculty. For some, elevation to tenure allows them to know everything about everything.
(Obviously a completely unresolved issue)

members of under-represented groups
The challenge: how do you tell the people that think they are being helpful that they are not being helpful or even worse than helpful (Pat)

Allies on-line
Commenting on a blog made it so much easier, because she could add external links, etc. that would not allow someone to dismiss what she was saying because of who she was.

(me) But is the on-line conversation occurring with the right people? We have a community of support amongst women in STEM on-line, but are we reaching our potential allies or those who need education? A problem with the self-selective nature of online conversation? But Zuska tells us about how powerful it was when a guy, who happened to be Abel, started read the blog and commenting. So for her, the internet has connected her with allies. Alice talks about the presumed white maleness of the internet.

Concluding thoughts
Danielle concludes that in some fields efforts to welcome women have been very successful. So it possible.

Pat - As we get older and face less risk to our own careers, if we really want to become allies we need to be come more risk-taking and more radical in our actions.