How To Be An Ally Following Carmela Dagnello’s research into gender equality in the lighting industry, Neil Knowles, Director of Elektra Lighting and Male Supporter of WIL, offers some advice to men in the industry on how to be better allies.
D
o you have a penis? Read this article.
The deserved success of the Women in Lighting project has left a lot of men standing on the
sidelines thinking “what can I do? How can I help? Fear not! Below is your handy cut-out-and-keep guide to How to be an Ally.
This article is addressed to men, and phrased accordingly.
What is an ally?
Ally: Someone who makes the commitment and effort to recognise their privilege and acts in solidarity with oppressed groups in the
struggle for justice. Allies understand that it is in their own interest to end all forms of oppression, even those from which they may
benefit in concrete ways. An ally is someone who uses their privilege to support the rights of the marginalised. (www.blueprintforall.org)
Why Should I?
You know this already. Women are routinely discriminated against, harassed, assaulted, murdered. Even in the workplace, sexual
discrimination is rife, put-downs, harassment, touching are all
common. You know these are wrong. Now is the time to step up and say something about it.
If that doesn’t get you, self-interest should. A diverse workforce is better than a homogenous one. Especially in design, take 10
identikit men (what Grayson Perry calls “default male”) and you’ll get 10 similar answers to a design problem. Add some women, you get a different perspective. Add some people of different religion, Neil Knowles, Director, Elektra Lighting
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www.arc-magazine.com
background, ethnic group, class and so on, you get a much deeper
and broader perspective on the problem and a much better solution.
