Allyship terms & concepts to know and share

An important part of allyship is understanding the terms that matter. Here is a series of terms shared by members of our community that help to increase conversational capacity:

• Privilege: an unearned advantage given by society to some people but not all. Recognizing your own privilege (the ways in which your identity and background have helped you) is a great place to start since it opens the door to empathy and allows people to become more aware of opportunities to use their privilege to be better allies.
• Systemic oppression: pervasive inequality that is present throughout society, benefits people with more privilege, and harms those with fewer privileges.
• Marginalized person: a member of a group that is impacted by a system of oppression.
• Ally: a member of a group that benefits from privilege and works to end oppression for others and/or make it easier for people with less privilege to gain access to opportunities. Also known as accomplice.
• Intersectionality: the concept that people can be subject to multiple systems of oppression and/or privilege that intersect and interact with each other (coined by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw). For example, someone’s experience can be shaped by being male and cis-gender (privilege) and also Black and gay (marginalized).
• Psychological safety: a feeling that someone can share what they are really thinking and feeling without fear of negative consequences (like loss of physical safety, status, relationships, job).
• Microaggression: a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional expression of a negative stereotype. (Originally coined by Dr. Chester Pierce).
• Additional terms.

Adopted from Life Labs Learning DEI Playbook