Karima-Catherine Goundiam is the founder and chief executive officer of digital strategy firm Red Dot Digital and business matchmaking platform B2BeeMatch.
I often write about the challenges of being a Black businesswoman – from systemic injustice and discrimination to the grind of everyday mistreatment. While major, top-down change is necessary, I think well-intentioned people who want to support colleagues facing these obstacles sometimes feel powerless or ill-equipped. After all, most of us don’t have the power, as individuals, to enact sweeping change.
So lately I’ve been thinking about the smaller acts of allyship that have made an impression on me and changed the course of my career. I’m hoping that these three stories may leave you with a better sense of the kinds of change you can effect in your day-to-day life working with people who are more marginalized than you.
Speak up in the small moments
I’ve worked for many years with a white male colleague who runs a small firm. We bring each other in on pitches, introduce each other to clients and so on. For a long time, when he saw people behave poorly to me, he waved it away, saying the person was just making a joke.
But one day, in a pitch meeting, the potential clients began to respond to me in a condescending way, which eventually devolved into outright hostility.
Instead of trying to salvage the situation, my colleague said, “I don’t understand why you’re treating KC this way. She’s a professional!” And he ended the video call.
Then he called me and asked, “Is this always like that for you?”
And I said, “Yes, a lot of the time people treat me like this.”
He was moved to tears. That moment of allyship was significant for him because he learned something about my reality. It was also significant for me because I learned that some people are courageous.
Most people don’t push back on their friends, their peers, their potential clients. It’s much easier to ignore poor treatment and walk away. Instead, we need to learn to look for it – and to speak up even if it might cost us something.
Choose the unfamiliar
I acquired a major client two years ago from within a tech industry niche made up of a huge majority of white men. I know he chose us partly because of our expertise, and partly because he wanted a more diverse supply chain. He could have done what 99 per cent of people do – work with familiar faces. But he saw potential with my firm, took a chance and chose me instead.
For him, this was just a basic business decision, but it was significant to my company’s growth.
Studies have shown us that diversity is a winner; diverse companies do better than their peers, they innovate more and make progress. Diversifying your supply chain is part of that. But people need to be willing to take a chance. As a decision-maker, you can be a game-changer in your industry by stepping outside your comfort zone.
Amplify others’ voices
I had met a senior business leader in a casual context, and we got along well. In conversation one day, I said that I wished Black people would get positive attention not just in moments of tragedy and oppression. What about the voices of ordinary people who are doing good work in the world? As well, I said, any stories about Black people are good, but ensuring Black people have the opportunity to speak about their own lives and expertise is even better.
A little while later, she recommended me as a speaker for a major event. This event brought me visibility and further speaking opportunities. For my original referral to the event organizer, all she had to do was send an e-mail, but she put the weight of her position behind her recommendation and that turned her into an agent for change.
Not everyone is in a position to provide a major platform to traditionally marginalized people. But it doesn’t have to be a big one to count. Lots of people manage content of one kind or another such as websites, video channels and podcasts. Maybe you’re curating an exhibit, developing curriculum, conducting a research project or seeking feedback. Whatever it is, make a point of including and featuring people from underrepresented groups. When you uplift, listen to and amplify their voices, it makes a difference.
Small decisions add up to systemic change
I can achieve many goals by sheer determination – and I do! But with the systemic barriers that exist in the business world, when someone in a position of power opens a door, I still have to work hard. But my greatest challenge now is to rise to the occasion, rather than fight to get in the door in the first place.
The people in these stories made intentional choices to work according to their professed values – to walk the talk of diversity. This is a matter of integrity and character, not of great wealth or great heroism. This is what’s important to me in allyship.
People tend to want to do grand things, but extraordinary changes start with small, everyday actions from ordinary people like you.
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