PERFORMATIVE ALLYSHIP IS THE CANCER EATING AWAY AT AUTHENTIC TRANSFORMATION IN THE WORKPLACE
The term allyship holds significance at various defining moments of our historical backdrop and in our everyday lived experiences, as remnants of the past linger on in present realities. Given the history of anti-black oppression, subjugation of women, erasure of LGBTQIA rights and other prejudices aimed at marginalised groups, allyship presents itself as a progressive call to recognise another’s humanity despite one’s proximity to power. Allyship is defined as “the practice of emphasizing social justice, inclusion, and human rights by members of an ingroup, to advance the interests of an oppressed or marginalized outgroup”. Activism can also be connected with allyship as a means to mobilise for equal rights for all. It creates space for an anti-prejudice conversation, deeply embedded in social justice ideals.
At face value, this seems incredibly noble and imprints in our collective imagination a world where everybody feels free to exist, where everybody feels validated to express themselves and to self-master. But the cracks of allyship continue to rear their ugly head, particularly since the advent of social media, where people can express disbelief, anger and disapproval of the oppression inflicted on others. This is a simple ‘act of solidarity’ displayed through 280-character tweets, a litany of Instagram captions and commentary on matters they often have no understanding of - all in the name of standing in solidarity with victims.
Penning her reflections on the death of George Floyd at the hands of policemen in the United States of America in 2020, Holiday Phillips put the spotlight on the complexities of allyship and its fleeting impact in the face of the perpetual suffering of marginalised people. She red-flagged the dangerous perception of ‘change’ these moments create, when in reality the needle is not shifted in ways that translate to freedom of being, expression and self-determination.
“I am not overlooking the fact that public allyship can help spur positive change. Voices can be heard, and some small version of justice may even be served as a result,” she noted. “But we must also not be lulled into believing that this kind of allyship is enough to dismantle the conditions that made it possible for an innocent black man to be lynched in broad daylight. And we must not let the kind of performative allyship that begins and ends with hashtags take centre-stage in the quest for equality.”
These words rang true a few months later – this time, in corporate South Africa. Outgoing CEO of African Bank Basani Maluleke ‘abruptly’ resigned after a tenure that saw her take the bank to great heights. Some of her achievements included rebuilding the bank’s brand image after a period of compromised customer and market confidence as well as a top score rating as the best bank for service in the SA Customer Satisfaction Index.
Assuming we indulge speculative reports, Maluleke was muscled out due to her strained relationship with Board Chairperson Thabo Dloti. Despite the absence of tangible evidence to these claims, this doesn’t seem too far-fetched and presents to us yet another opportunity to interrogate performative allyship often displayed by company boards. In spite of eloquently-articulated organisational strategies and workplace manifestos, many on the ground can tell appalling stories of business practices that are worlds away from the company rhetoric. Could it be a matter of intentional window dressing or a lack of will to bravely act on ideals that promote equality? Is toxic masculinity in the space of power the problem?
Either way, we are here again, where a board that once waxed lyrical about Maluleke could not defend her in what appears to be a gender power imbalance. Despite her consummate professionalism and capabilities, she was eventually shifted to the sidelines of a business she had restored to not only its former glory, but to its imagined potential.
This brings us to question the role of allyship in the workplace, right from the top down, and to start being honest about the often performative nature of its expression. We could even go a step further and speak of its sometimes exploitative nature – when organisations are only too eager to apply it when it stands to benefit their reputational and commercial interests, but quick to relegate and erase the marginalised once they are no longer ‘valuable’ or ‘relevant’. This is an issue at the intersection of business ethics and strategy.
Performative allyship can be understood as posturing progressive ideals in favour of the marginalised, taking credit for being an ally without bearing this out in day-to-day operations and policies. In the context of the workplace, this would take the form of, for example, professing to have a balanced and diverse leadership organogram or claiming to ‘see’ everyone for their uniqueness – without doing any of the internal work to make it anything more than a platitude. The good optics are tempting, but while organisations take on these politically correct positions, they struggle to sustain them through visible actions.
This is where organisational behaviour is exposed, underlining the lack of accountability. If a strained relationship between a woman and a man who are both in power sees a company’s power systems be either complicit or indifferent about the unfair cards dealt for a woman, then it is evident that, when its allyship is truly tested, the company fails to live up to its proclamations and makes us wonder if its intentions were in good faith to begin with. This is also true for justified affirmative action efforts within companies.
We cannot be blind to the fact that organisations are run by people, and those people are a microcosm of their society – a society filled with contradictions. To acknowledge and reconcile this, a resolute sense of accountability needs to be entrenched in boards and management teams, a real commitment to putting their money and actions where their marketing campaigns and business strategies are.
The biggest disservice employers and business owners can do themselves, their employees and their clients or consumers is to invest money in spinning narratives around inclusion, diversity and transformation instead of doing the uncomfortable yet honourable work of creating a conducive environment for authentic culture change, humane support structures and brave voices in the face of injustice. True allyship is tested during difficult times of conflict and the misalignment of ideas. When organisations cannot live up to their brand promise in these moments, they do not only fail their employees, but the collective life of our democratic project.
Real allyship lies in the courage to take on a clear position and to embark on a sincere reconstruction of values, tested against unconscious biases, which will transcend heroic utterances into a true defence of those who have been marginalised – intellectually, financially and emotionally.
Lest organisations find themselves on the wrong side of history, internal introspection and clarity on purpose on the activism they employ must be an urgent item on the agenda. History is not going to judge us on what we claimed to stand for, but what we did to effect change. The real work begins after the applause for giving a black woman, a disabled person, or a queer person a “leg up” has died away, in how we hold that space for them and how we build a safe and enabling environment for all to flourish.
It’s time to act with honesty and kill the urge to perform for cheap inclusion and diversity brownie points. When organisations start to confront the discomfort of acknowledging their deeply entrenched biases and to understand transformation beyond the optics of looking progressive, and defending it when it counts the most, then we can truly claim to be making strides at creating an inclusive and diverse society. Until then, we are the feeding a cancer that may eventually destroy our opportunity for honest and transformative change.
Reference List
1. Luhabe, W (2021) African Bank owes public an explanation over Basani Maluleke’s exit, retrieved from https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/2021-02-10-african-bank-owes-public-an-explanation-over-basani-malulekes-exit/
2. Phillips, H (2020) Performative Allyship Is Deadly (Here’s What to Do Instead), retrieved from https://forge.medium.com/performative-allyship-is-deadly-c900645d9f1f
3. Wikipedia (2021) Allyship retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allyship#:~:text=Allyship%20is%20the%20practice%20of,social%20justice%20theories%20and%20ideals.