Distrust and disempowerment prevent allyship in the workplace, research shows

"Our findings run counter to the common assumption that people don't step up to support marginalized colleagues because they don't care or are unmotivated. Not seeing much action against inequity and injustice can drive this cynical idea. It's built into many diversity, equity and inclusion training programs that rely on motivational tactics of persuasion, guilting and shaming to get people to act."

"We asked them, "What makes it hard for you to be an ally for underrepresented and marginalized people (e.g., people of color, women, persons with a disability) in your organization?" Low motivation represented just 8% of the barriers people cited. And lack of awareness that marginalized groups face inequities accounted for only 10% of the barriers people mentioned. Most diversity training money tends to be devoted to teaching employees about these topics-suggesting why many diversity training programs fail."

Employees commonly hesitate to intervene when co-workers are mistreated because they feel disempowered and face distrust and polarization within their organizations. Survey data from 778 Michigan employees and 973 Canadian employees, representative across regions, job types, and demographics, show that low motivation accounted for only 8% of reported barriers and lack of awareness only 10%. The most frequent barriers involved interpersonal distrust, tension, second-guessing, and self-censorship. Heavy investment in awareness-raising and motivational tactics like persuasion, guilting, and shaming can miss addressing organizational power dynamics and relational distrust that inhibit allyship.

Read at Fast Company